PFE Help
Programmer's File Editor Help File

This help file contains full information for Programmer's File Editor 1.01. Some features described will not be available in earlier versions of the editor.

When you're using PFE's dialog boxes, you can get help on the exact steps you should take by clicking the Help button or pressing the F1 key.

Like all Windows help files, this one contains many hypertext links which take you from one topic to another in a structured way. Also, most topics set up the Up button above the text display area to take you to the most appropriate menu topic, so you can easily retrace your steps from a lengthy session of following links.

If you're not sure how to use the Windows Help System, select the How To Use Help item from the Help menu at the top of this window, or from PFE's own help menu.

Introduction To PFE	This section gives you general information on PFE, tells you where you can get the latest version, and contains notes specific to this release

Procedures	This section tells you how to go about doing things in PFE, and explains PFE's features

Commands	This section gives you information on each of PFE's menu commands. You can look here for a summary of what a menu command does, then follow the links into the Procedures section for a fuller explanation

Reference	This section contains reference information: there are lists of the default key bindings, of the various mappable functions,  and so on

Programmer's File Editor is Copyright © Alan Phillips 1992 - 1999


Introduction To PFE

Welcome to Programmer's File Editor, a programmer-oriented text editor for Windows that has wide application in all areas needing the ability to edit files.

PFE is a standard Windows Multiple Document Interface (MDI) application, which means that you can operate it in the same way as any other standard Windows application. It features many powerful facilities, which you will find described in the sections in this help file.

The program is distributed in two separate editions to suit the system you are running it on:

-	The 16-Bit Edition is designed for systems running Windows 3.1x or Windows for Workgroups 3.1x

-	The 32-Bit Edition is designed for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 using Intel-compatible processors and Windows 2000 using Intel-compatible processors

This introductory section gives you an overview of what PFE is, tells you where you can the latest version, and so on. Further information is available in the distribution set:

readme.txt	Basic information to get you started with this release

changes.txt	Details of all the changes made from previous releases

faq.txt	A list of Frequently Asked Questions and the answers to them

problems.txt	Details of any unresolved problems in the current release

upgrade.txt	Details of how to upgrade from versions of the 32-Bit Edition earlier than 0.07.001 to version 1.01 (this file is not part of the 16-Bit Edition's distribution set)

What is Programmer's File Editor?

Disclaimer

Where To Get It

Using And Distributing PFE

Notes On This Release

Acknowledgements


What Is Programmer's File Editor?

Programmer's File Editor (PFE) is a large-capacity text file editor, oriented towards those who use Windows as their program development environment, and so incorporates many features that make it a convenient work management system. Although it's primarily oriented to program development, it makes a very powerful general editor for any purpose at all.

PFE's capacity is essentially limited only by the total amount of memory available on your system. There are no editor-imposed limits on the number of files that you can edit simultaneously, nor on the number of edit windows that you may have open. There is no limit on the size of file that can be handled, and none on the number of lines that a file may contain.

PFE adheres strictly to the Windows MDI conventions. You can invoke most commands and facilities from menus; you can move around with a mouse or with the standard keyboard shortcuts; you can cut and paste from the clipboard, and so on.

You can reconfigure the use of keys, so that if you don't like the built-in way PFE works, you can change which keys do what to suit your preferences. If you like, you could have commands invoked by two-character key sequences like Esc G and Ctrl+K Ctrl+B; or you could use key sequences such as Alt+F and Alt+S - almost all keyboard keys can be mapped, in any combination.

PFE is able to run DOS commands, such as compilers, and to capture their output into windows for inspection. This lets you use it as an integrated development environment, cutting down the amount of work you need to do to build and test your applications. You can also quickly launch the application you're developing, and you can configure details of the Windows tools that you use, so that these too can be launched with only a few mouse clicks.

There are also some features that let you build files more easily. You can define sets of templates - standard lines of text - that you can insert into the file you're editing with just a few mouse clicks. You can group the templates you work with into distinct files, and load them for use automatically.

Why should you use PFE? If you already have a favourite editor, fine. PFE is not sold for money, so the author has no need to persuade you to do something you don't want. However, you might like it; and you are also very welcome to contribute ideas for improvements. There is a great deal of scope for changing and improving things, so let the author know what you think.


Disclaimer

Programmer's File Editor is supplied on an as-is basis. The author offers no warranty of its fitness for any purpose whatsoever, and accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage incurred by its use.

PFE is not a supported product. The author accepts no commitment or liability to address any problems that may be encountered in using it; however, PFE is continually being developed and improved, so he is always interested to hear about any bugs or deficiencies.


Where To Get It

Programmer's File Editor is available from a wide range of archive sites throughout the world.

The definitive source of releases and up-to-date information about PFE is the PFE Home Page on the World Wide Web, which you can find at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/people/cpaap/pfe/


Using And Distributing PFE

Programmer's File Editor may be freely used for any purpose. You may use it privately or in the course of your work; there is no fee, and no registration is required.

You may distribute it to anyone, and you may place it on any archive or bulletin board system. You may not charge anyone for it other than a reasonable fee to cover your distribution costs. Normally, you should distribute PFE in the form as supplied by the author; however, you may repackage it to suit the conventions and needs of an archive or bulletin board system.

PFE may not be distributed as part of any commercial product without a prior licence agreement. Licenses to incorporate the source into commercial products are also available.

PFE may be reviewed for any publication, whether in hard copy or electronic form, without the author's prior permission.


Notes On This Release

Programmer's File Editor is still under active development. The author welcomes feedback from users, and ideas for further facilities.

Notes Specific To The 16-Bit Edition

Notes Specific To The 32-Bit Edition


Notes Specific To The 16-Bit Edition

The 16-Bit Edition of PFE can be run on Windows 3.1x and Windows for Workgroups 3.1x systems. It is not recommended that you run this version under Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98.

You will be able to use key mapping and template files produced by the 16-Bit Edition with the 32-Bit Edition, as the formats are identical. However, since normally both systems are installed in the same Windows directory, the file names will differ between the two versions.

The format of template files is also common to both editions.

The 16-Bit and 32-Bit Editions run independently of each other. An attempt to start the 32-Bit Edition will never instead pass control to an instance of the 16-Bit Edition running under the Win16 subsystem, and vice versa.


Notes Specific To The 32-Bit Edition

The 32-Bit Edition of PFE can be run on Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 with Intel-compatible processors; on Windows 2000 with Intel-compatible processors; on Windows 95; and on Windows 98. It is not recommended that you run this edition on Windows 3.1x systems using Win32s

You will be able to use the same key mapping and template files as the 16-Bit Edition, as the formats are identical. However, since normally both systems are installed in the same Windows directory, the file names will differ between the two versions.

The 16-Bit and 32-Bit Editions run independently of each other. An attempt to start the 32-Bit Edition will never instead pass control to an instance of the 16-Bit Edition running under the Win16 subsystem, and vice versa.

There are no plans to produce binary versions of the 32-Bit Edition for DEC Alpha systems; however, users report that the Intel version works correctly in the Windows NT Intel emulator on Alpha-based machines.

The 32-Bit Edition uses the Windows Registry to record its initialisation data rather than an initialisation file. If you are upgrading to this version from 0.06.002 or earlier, you will need to run the Ini2Reg conversion utility to convert your old pfe32.ini file into registry values. The converter utility is supplied in the distribution set, and is fully described in the accompanying upgrade.txt release file.


Acknowledgements

I'm happy to be able gratefully to acknowledge here the help of those who have contributed ideas and testing time towards this project. Bug reports,  comments and suggestions are always welcome from everyone. I'll try to respond to all e-mail messages; time just does not permit postal replies, I'm afraid, but everything will be read and considered.

Icons and bitmaps were designed by Dave Bleasdale (copyright assigned)

I must express my gratitude and indebtedness to the many people who have sent me suggestions on how PFE could be improved, and details of bugs and problems they've found. I'm especially grateful to the team of beta testers, who have worked with the pre-release versions and helped me iron out the many problems. Thanks, guys.


PFE Menu Commands

The menu bar shown at the top of the main window contains a selection of items that you can use to perform many of PFE's operations. Not all of the menu items on the menu bar, and not all of those on each of the pull down menus, will appear if you don't have a file open - for example, there'll be no Edit item on the menu bar if there's no file to edit.

The File Menu	File-related commands that let you open, close and save files, etc.

The Edit Menu	Text-altering commands that let you search for strings and replace them, use the clipboard, etc.

The Options Menu	Commands for setting how windows appear, and for expressing your preferences.

The Template Menu	Commands for handling all aspects of templates

The Execute Menu	Commands for running DOS commands and Windows tools

The Macro Menu	Commands for using keyboard macros

The Window Menu	Commands for arranging, duplicating and selecting windows

The Help Menu	Commands that start the Windows help engine


The File Menu

This item on the menu bar contains file-related options. Not all of the items listed here will appear on the menu if you don't have any files open.

File New

File Open

File View

File Insert

File Save

File Save As

File Save All

File Write

File Name

File Mail

File Close

File Close All

File Change Directory

File Change To File's Directory

File Print

File Print All

File Page Setup

File Print Setup

File Exit

Most-Recently-Used List


File New Command
File New

This menu item creates a new, empty edit window in which you can type text.

Default command key:	Ctrl+N

Tool bar action:

Desktop mouse action:	Click Right Button and select Create New File Window

 The window will have no file name associated with it. The tab size and other settings will be the values you set up for "new files" with the Options Default Modes command

About Creating a New File


File Open Command
File Open

Opens an existing files for editing.

Default command key:	Ctrl+O

Tool bar action:

Desktop mouse action:	Click Right Button and select Edit Existing File

Selecting this item shows you a standard dialog box, from which you can specify the file you want to work on.

By default, you can open only one file at a time with this command. However, you can configure PFE to allow multiple files to be opened through the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Opening Existing Files


File View Command
File View

Opens an existing file in read only mode. You will be able to examine its contents, but not alter them.

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Shift +

Desktop mouse action:	Click Right Button and select View Existing File

Selecting this item starts a dialog that is similar to the one produced by the File Open command. However, this dialog does not have a Read Only check box.

You can remove read only mode from a file with the status bar or with the Options Current Modes command.

By default, you can open only one file at a time with this command. However, you can configure PFE to allow multiple files to be opened through the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Opening Existing Files


File Insert Command
File Insert

Inserts an existing file anywhere into the text you're editing.

Default command key:	None

Selecting this item shows you a standard dialog box, from which you can specify the file to insert.

About Inserting An Existing File


File Save Command
File Save

Saves the contents of a file you're editing to a disk file.

Default command key:	Ctrl+S

Tool bar action:

If you haven't associated a name with the file yet, PFE treats this menu item as if you'd selected the File Save As command instead.

You cannot use this option to save a template that you're editing into a template file. Instead, use the Template Store or Template Store As commands.

If the File Modes of the current file so specify, and if a file of the same name already exists, PFE will maintain a backup copy, allowing you quickly to revert to a previous version of the file.

About Saving A File To Disk


File Save As Command
File Save As

Saves the contents of a file to disk, allowing you to specify the file name.

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:

Selecting this item shows you a standard dialog box, from which you can specify the name of the disk file you want to save the data to.

Using this option changes the name associated with the window, so that future File Save commands will write to the same disk file automatically.

The dialog allows you to specify that, if you save to a file of the same name as one that already exists, a backup copy is kept, allowing you quickly to revert to a previous version of the file.

About Saving A File To Disk


File Save All Command
File Save All

Saves all altered files, stores all altered templates into template files, and saves all altered template files in a single operation.

Default command key:	None

PFE will check through all the files and templates that you currently have open, saving them if they have altered.

The process is done in several stages. First, all altered named files are written to disk; then all altered templates that are already associated with template files are stored in the in-memory copy of the relevant template files.

Next, PFE will ask you if you want to save each altered file that does not have a name. You can elect not to save a file if you wish; if you do want to save it, you'll see a dialog asking you to give a file name.

After this, PFE will ask you if you want to store each unnamed template. If you elect to store one, you'll be asked to supply a name for the template, and to specify the template file it is to be stored in. If you don't have any template files attached, you'll see a warning message, and this step will be skipped.

Finally, PFE will save all the attached template files that have been altered to disk.

Clicking Cancel in any of the dialogs that occur in this process will cancel the entire operation.

About Saving A File To Disk


File Write Command
File Write

Writes the contents of a file to disk,  allowing you to specify the file name

Default command key:	None

Selecting this item shows you a standard dialog box, from which you can specify the name of the disk file you want to write the data to.

The dialog allows you to specify that, if you write to a file of the same name as one that already exists, a backup copy is to be kept, allowing you quickly to revert to a previous version of the file.

Unlike the File Save As command, this command does not permanently associate the name of the disk file with the window showing the data.

About Saving A File To Disk


File Name Command
File Name

Changes the disk file name associated with a window.

Default command key:	None

Selecting this item shows you a standard dialog box, from which you can specify the name of the disk file you want to associate with the window.

After using this command, the File Save command will write the data to disk in a file with the name you've specified. The file is marked as having been altered, so that the  File Save command will be immediately available for you to save the file with its new identity

This command does not affect any existing disk file.

About Saving A File To Disk


File Mail Command
File Mail

Mails the data in the current window to someone else, using a MAPI-compliant mailer.

Default command key:	None

The command saves the data in the current window to a temporary file, then calls the mail system to prompt you for delivery instructions. The file will be mailed as an attachment.

Since the mailer may itself need to make a further copy of the file, you should ensure that you have adequate disk space available for this operation.

You will not be able to select this option if PFE does not detect a MAPI-compliant mailer in your system configuration when you start it.

About Mailing A File


File Close Command
File Close

Closes the file being shown in the current window. The current window, and all other windows showing the same file, will be closed.

Default command key:	None

If you have changed the file concerned, and haven't saved the changes to disk, PFE will prompt you and allow you to save the changes, to discard them, or to cancel the close.

About Closing A File


File Close All Command
File Close All

Closes all the files that you're working on. All windows will be deleted.

Default command key:	None

If you have changed any of the files concerned, and haven't saved the changes to disk, PFE will prompt you and allow you to save the changes, to discard them, or to cancel the entire close operation.

About Closing A File


File Change Directory Command
File Change Directory

Changes the current working directory that PFE uses

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that allows you to select the current working directory that PFE uses.

By default, PFE will use this directory as the place to start browsing when you run dialogs that open or save files.

About Setting The Working Directory


File Change To File's Directory Command
File Change To File's Directory

Changes the current working directory that PFE uses to be the one containing the current file

Default command key:	None

By default, PFE will use this directory as the place to start browsing when you open dialogs to open or save files.

About Setting The Working Directory


File Print Command
File Print

Prints all or part of the current file.

Default command key:	Ctrl+P

Tool bar action:

The command starts a dialog that allows you to specify the details of how the file is to be printed and on which printer.

By default, PFE uses the same printer that you specified the last time you printed a file; default details of the printing, such as line folding and page headers, are taken from the window modes set on the current window.

About Printing A File


File Print All Command
File Print All

Prints the whole of all the currently open files

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Ctrl + Shift +

The command starts a dialog that allows you to specify the details of how the file is to be printed and on which printer. By default, PFE uses the same printer that you specified the last time you printed a file.

The dialog allows you to specify whether lines are to be numbered; whether long lines are to be wrapped on the page; and whether each page will have a header printed. These settings apply to all the files that are printed.

The files you have open are printed in alphabetical order of the full path name. By default, each file is printed as a separate print job, and if you are printing to a server system, each may have its own banner page. The "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command allows you to specify that files are printed in a single job with a single banner page if you wish.

About Printing A File


File Print Setup Command
File Print Setup

Selects the printer to be used by default for printing files and alters its setup details

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Shift +

The command starts a dialog that allows you to configure the various details. The settings are used for the current PFE session only.

With this command you can change only the characteristics specific to the actual printer you are using. To change the font that will be used to print files and the page layout and ordering, you should use the File Page Setup command.

About Printing A File


File Page Setup Command
File Page Setup

Selects how pages should appear when you print to the currently-selected printer. You can configure the font used, whether the headers are printed against a shaded background, whether you print one or two pages of the file on each sheet of paper, and whether pages are printed in forward order, reverse order or in booklet order.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that allows you to configure the various details. The settings are recorded and will be used by default whenever you print to the currently-selected device

About Printing A File


File Exit Command
File Exit

Terminates your PFE session

Default command key:	None

This command will end your PFE session. If any of the files you're working with have changed, and you haven't saved the changes to disk, PFE will prompt you for each one in turn. You can choose to save the changes, discard them, or cancel the closedown.

The Exit Windows item in PFE's system menu allows you to end your PFE session and terminate Windows itself in a variety of ways.

About Ending a PFE Session


File Most-Recently-Used List Commands
File Most-Recently-Used List

This is not a single menu item, but a list that PFE adds automatically to the end of the File menu.

Whenever you open a file, PFE records the name in the list, ordering it so that the files you have used most recently always appear at the top. You can then re-open any file in the list simply by clicking on the menu item.

The file will be opened for editing (unless the copy on disk is marked as read only). You can force PFE to open the file in read only mode by holding the Ctrl key down as you select the menu item.

Normally, when you select a file from this list, PFE will create the window that shows it at the same size and position as when you last used the file. The caret will automatically be moved to the position in was at when you closed the file. You can suppress this behaviour, so that the window size and position will be set to default values, and the caret will be set to the start of the file, by holding the Shift key down as you select the menu item

PFE records the list whenever you exit it. It will always re-instate the list when you start the next session.

You can configure how PFE re-uses saved window positions, and the size and display details of the list with the "Window Position Re-Use" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

When the list contains more files than can be displayed on the File menu, an extra menu command More Files is automatically added (if you've set the number of files you want shown on the menu to zero, the menu command will be Recent Files). The command starts a dialog that shows you the entire contents of the list, and lets you pick the file you want to open.


The Edit Menu

This item on the menu bar contains options concerned with altering text. It will not be shown if you have no files open.

Edit Undo

Edit Clear Undo

Edit Cut

Edit Copy

Edit Paste

Edit Select All

Edit Select Word

Edit Delete Line

Edit Delete To End Of Line

Edit Show Caret

Edit Goto Line

Edit Find

Edit Replace

Edit Repeat Last Find

Edit Repeat Last Replace

Edit Text


Edit Undo Command
Edit Undo

Undoes the last edit action, returning the current file to its previous state

Default command key:	Ctrl+Z

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Undo

The text of this command on the Edit menu is not constant, but changes to indicate the nature of the action that will be undone if you use it. For example, if the last edit action you performed was to cut an area of text to the clipboard, the menu command will be Edit Undo Cut. Similarly, Edit Undo Drag-Drop indicates that the last edit action you performed was a drag-and-drop move or copy of text, and so on.

When there is no edit action to undo, or PFE is unable for some reason to reverse the last change you made, the menu command will show Can't Undo, and you will not be able to select the command.

Normally PFE records the last 32 edit actions that you have performed on each file that you are editing. You can change this to record more or fewer actions with the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Undoing Edit Actions


Edit Clear Undo Command
Edit Clear Undo

Clears the recorded details of all the edit actions performed up to this point for the current file, returning the memory used to the system

Default command key:	None

This command allows you to free the memory that PFE is using to record the changes you have made to the current file. Depending on what edit changes you have made to the current file, a significant amount of memory could be freed for other uses.

Once you have used this command, you will be unable to undo any preceding edit changes to the current file.

The command will ask you to confirm that you wish to take this action before carrying it out.

Normally PFE will automatically perform this action when you write a file to disk. You can change this behaviour, so that undo actions are discarded only when you explicitly command it with the "Saving Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Undoing Edit Actions


Edit Cut Command
Edit Cut

Deletes the highlighted text in the current window, placing it on the clipboard.

Default command key:	Ctrl+X

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Cut

After this operation, you will be able to paste the deleted text into another PFE window, or into another application

About Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text


Edit Copy Command
Edit Copy

Copies the highlighted text in the current window onto the clipboard.

Default command key:	Ctrl+C

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Copy

After this operation, you will be able to paste the deleted text into another PFE window, or into another application.

Normally the text you've copied remains highlighted after this operation. You can arrange for the highlight to be removed with the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text


Edit Paste Command
Edit Paste

Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current window at the position of the caret

Default command key:	Ctrl+V

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Paste

You will only be able to perform this operation if the clipboard contains data in text format. PFE does not support pasting of bitmaps or other clipboard formats.

About Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text


Edit Select All Command
Edit Select All

Highlights the entire contents of the current window.

Default command key:	None

You can perform this operation wherever the caret currently is in the file. After it the caret will be positioned at the end of the file.

About Selecting Text


Edit Select Word Command
Edit Select Word

Highlights the word that the caret is currently in.

Default command key:	None

Mouse shortcut:	Double-click the left button

About Selecting Text


Edit Delete Line Command
Edit Delete Line

Deletes the entire line containing the caret.

Default command key:	Ctrl+Shift+K

This command deletes the entire line, wherever the caret is within it. The caret moves to the start of the following line.

About Deleting Text


Edit Delete To End Of Line Command
Edit Delete to End of Line

Deletes the text from the position of the caret to the end of the line containing it

Default command key:	Ctrl+K

If the caret is at the start of a line that is completely empty, the line following is moved up to close the gap.

About Deleting Text


Edit Show Caret Command
Edit Show Caret

Moves the data being shown in the current window so that the caret is visible, and the line containing it is as close as possible to the middle of the window

Default command key:	Ctrl+F5


Edit Goto Line Command
Edit Goto Line

Moves the caret to a specific position within the file.

Default command key:	Ctrl+G

Used from status bar?:	Yes

The command starts a dialog that allows you to specify the position within the file to move to. You can also choose to highlight all the text between the current position of the caret and the target line.

You can move to a specific line, or to a specific character location within a specific line.

About Moving to Specific Lines


Edit Find Command
Edit Find

Searches the current window for a text string.

Default command key:	F2

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Find

The command starts a standard dialog that lets you specify the details of the search. The dialog remains visible, and can be re-used for another search in the same window, or in another window.

Any highlighted text in the current window will be set up as the default string to be searched for.

About Finding Text


Edit Repeat Last Find Command
Edit Repeat Last Find

Repeats the last search operation, without prompting for details.

Default command key:	Shift+F2

Tool bar action:	Shift +

The command repeats the last search operation, using the details last set with the Edit Find command.

If you have not previously performed a search operation, the command acts as the Edit Find command and shows the standard dialog.

If the Edit Find dialog is visible, the command activates it rather than performing a search.

About Finding Text


Edit Replace Command
Edit Replace

Searches the current window for a text string, and optionally replaces occurrences with another string.

Default command key:	F3

Tool bar action:

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Replace

The command starts a standard dialog that lets you specify the details of the operation. The dialog remains visible, and can be re-used for another search in the same window, or in another window.

Any highlighted text in the current window will be set up as the default string to be searched for.

Using the dialog, you can either scan through the file, deciding whether or not to replace each occurrence of a match; or you can elect to replace all occurrences automatically.

About Replacing Text


Edit Repeat Last Replace Command
Edit Repeat Last Replace

Repeats the last replace operation, without prompting for details.

Default command key:	Shift+F3

Tool bar action:	Shift +

The command repeats the last replace operation, using the details last set with the Edit Replace command.

If you have not previously performed a replace operation, the command acts as the Edit Replace command and shows the standard dialog.

If the Edit Replace dialog is visible, the command activates it rather than performing a replacement.

About Replacing Text


Edit Text Command
Edit Text

Shows a popup sub-menu containing text-related commands.

Edit Text Transpose Characters

Edit Text Uppercase Selection

Edit Text Lowercase Selection

Edit Text Indent

Edit Text Undent

Edit Text Insert ASCII Code

Edit Text Match Brace

Edit Text Match Brace Select

Edit Text Widen Brace Select

Edit Text Reformat

Edit Text Reformat Paragraph


Edit Text Transpose Characters Command
Edit Text Transpose Characters

Transposes the character to the right of the caret and the character to the left of the caret.

Default command key:	None

It has no effect if the caret is positioned at the start or the end of a line.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Uppercase Selection Command
Edit Text Uppercase Selection

Changes all lower-case characters in the currently highlighted text to upper-case characters.

Default command key:	None

About Text Processing


Edit Text Lowercase Selection Command
Edit Text Lowercase Selection

Changes all upper-case characters in the currently highlighted text to lower-case characters

Default command key:	None

About Text Processing


Edit Text Indent Command
Edit Text Indent

Moves the text in one or more lines right by one tab stop.

Default command key:	None

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Indent Text

If you do not have any text highlighted, PFE indents only the line that the caret is in. Otherwise, it indents all the lines containing highlighted text.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Undent Command
Edit Text Undent

Moves the text in lines left by one tab stop.

Default command key:	None

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Undent Text

If you do not have any text highlighted, PFE undents only the line that the caret is in. Otherwise, it undents all the lines containing highlighted text.

Lines that do not start with white space are not affected.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Insert ASCII Code Command
Edit Text Insert ASCII Code

Inserts a character specified by its ASCII code

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that lets you specify the ASCII code of the character to insert. You can choose from a preset list of control characters (ASCII codes 1 to 31) or type the actual decimal code value yourself.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Match Brace

Moves the caret to a matching brace character

Default command key:	Ctrl+B

The action of this command depends on the language type defined in the current window's window modes.

Language type "(none)" or "TeX"

The command checks that the caret is positioned on a character that is either an opening brace from the set { [ ( or <, or is a closing brace from the set } ] ) or >.

If so, PFE scans the window in the appropriate direction to locate the brace that matches it, having regard to nested brace pairs. If a match is found, the caret is moved to lie on the caret; if no match is found, the caret remains where it is.

In scanning for the matching brace character no regard is paid to any syntactic elements of any kind in the text.

Language type "C"

The command checks that the caret is positioned on a character that is either an opening brace from the set { [ or (, or is a closing brace from the set } ] or ).

If so, PFE scans the window in the appropriate direction to locate the brace that matches it, having regard to nested brace pairs. If a match is found, the caret is moved to lie on the caret; if no match is found, the caret remains where it is.

In scanning for the matching brace character regard is paid to some elements of C language syntax. Characters within comments, or inside pre-processor directives, are not scanned; nor are characters defined as character literals. However, depending on where the caret initially lies in relation to syntactic elements, on some occasions it may not be possible to make an unambiguous determination of the correct matching brace. This will happen especially if the syntactic elements in the text are invalid or not yet complete.

If it is required to both move to a matching brace and highlight the text between the braces, you can use either the Edit Text Match Brace Select or Edit Text Widen Brace Select commands.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Match Brace Select

Moves the caret to a matching brace character, highlighting all the text between and including the brace characters

Default command key:	Ctrl+Shift+B

The action of this command depends on the language type defined in the current window's window modes.

Language type "(none)" or "TeX"

The command checks that the caret is positioned on a character that is either an opening brace from the set { [ ( or <, or is a closing brace from the set } ] ) or >.

If so, PFE scans the window in the appropriate direction to locate the brace that matches it, having regard to nested brace pairs. If a match is found, the caret is moved to lie on the caret and all the text between and including the brace characters is highlighted; if no match is found, the caret remains where it is.

In scanning for the matching brace character no regard is paid to any syntactic elements of any kind in the text.

Language type "C"

The command checks that the caret is positioned on a character that is either an opening brace from the set { [ or (, or is a closing brace from the set } ] or ).

If so, PFE scans the window in the appropriate direction to locate the brace that matches it, having regard to nested brace pairs. If a match is found, the caret is moved to lie on the caret and all the text between and including the braces is highlighted; if no match is found, the caret remains where it is.

In scanning for the matching brace character regard is paid to some elements of C language syntax. Characters within comments, or inside pre-processor directives, are not scanned; nor are characters defined as character literals. However, depending on where the caret initially lies in relation to syntactic elements, on some occasions it may not be possible to make an unambiguous determination of the correct matching brace. This will happen especially if the syntactic elements in the text are invalid or not yet complete.

If it is required to both move to a matching brace without highlighting the text between the braces, use the Edit Text Match Brace Select command.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Widen Brace Select

Highlights the next largest area of text delimited by matching brace characters and including either the character under the caret, or the current selection.

Default command key:	Ctrl+Shift+W

The action of this command depends on the language type defined in the current window's window modes.

Language type "(none)" or "TeX"

The command attempts to locate a matching pair of brace characters that contain either the character under the caret, or the whole of any highlighted text. It regards opening braces as any character from the set { [ ( or <, and closing braces as the corresponding characters from the set } ] ) or >.

If a matching brace pair is found, the text between and including them is highlighted.

In scanning for the matching brace characters no regard is paid to any syntactic elements of any kind in the text.

Language type "C"

The command attempts to locate a matching pair of brace characters that contain either the character under the caret, or the whole of any highlighted text. It regards opening braces as any character from the set { [ or (, and closing braces as the corresponding characters from the set } ] or ).

If a matching brace pair is found, the text between and including them is highlighted.

In scanning for the matching brace characters regard is paid to some elements of C language syntax. Characters within comments, or inside pre-processor directives, are not scanned; nor are characters defined as character literals. However, depending on where the caret initially lies in relation to syntactic elements, on some occasions it may not be possible to make an unambiguous determination of the correct matching brace. This will happen especially if the syntactic elements in the text are invalid or not yet complete.

Repeated use of this command will have the effect of selecting increasingly larger sections of text, enabling you easily to locate and access large delimited blocks.

About Text Processing


Edit Text Reformat

Reformats text so that it fits into the current wrap margin.

Default command key:	None

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Reformat

If you don't have any text highlighted, the command will reformat the text in the paragraph containing the caret. If you have a highlight, it reformats the text in all the lines contained within it.

All empty lines within any selection are removed in this operation.

You can use the command whether or not you've activated word wrapping in the window concerned

About Text Processing


Edit Text Reformat Paragraph

Reformats text so that it fits into the current wrap margin, respecting paragraph divisions

Default command key:	None

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Reformat Paragraph

If you don't have any text highlighted, the command will reformat the text in the paragraph containing the caret. If you have a highlight, it reformats the text in all the lines contained within it.

Any empty lines in the highlighted area are removed, leaving only one blank line between paragraphs

You can use the command whether or not you've activated word wrapping in the window concerned

About Text Processing


The Options Menu

This item on the menu bar contains various system configuration options. Not all the items will appear if you don't have a file open.

Options Current Modes

Options Default Modes

Options Reset Modes

Options Key Mapping

Options Preferences

Options DDE Server

Options Control Station (32-Bit Edition Only)


Options Current File/Window Modes Command
Options Current Modes

Starts a dialog that allows you to configure the modes that apply to the current window, and to the file that is being shown in the current window.

Default command key:	None

About File and Windows Modes


Options Default File/Window Modes Command
Options Default Modes

Starts a dialog that allows you to configure the modes that PFE applies to windows and files when you open existing files or create new ones.

Default command key:	None

About File and Windows Modes


The Options Reset File/Window Modes Command
Options Reset Modes

Resets the window modes that apply to the current window, and the file modes that apply to the file it's showing, to the default values.

Default command key:	None

The mode values applied are derived from values defined by the Options Default Modes command.

About File and Windows Modes


Options Key Mapping Command
Options Key Mapping

Maps keys to functions.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that enables you to set which operations are to be performed when you press particular keys. You can save the mappings you specify so that PFE will use them automatically the next time you start it. You can also save them to as individual key mapping files, which you can load for specific purposes as you require.

By default, PFE uses a set of built-in key mappings.

About Key Mapping


Options Preferences Command
Options Preferences

Configures PFE to suit your requirements

Default command key:	None

Desktop mouse action:	Click Right Button and select Properties

This command allows you to configure PFE so that it works in the way that suits you best. It runs a dialog that lets you set the various configuration options.


Options DDE Server Command
Options DDE Server

Turns the DDE server facilities on and off.

Default command key:	None

This command can be used at any time to start and stop PFE's DDE server system. Normally, PFE will act as a DDE server by default, but if you've configured the system to run multiple instances by default with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command, or started PFE with a "/m" command line option, the DDE server will not be running.

The menu item will be checked if the DDE server is running. You should normally try to have only one instance of PFE that is a DDE server running at any time, as it's not predictable which one another application will connect to.

Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link


Options Control Station Command
Options Control Station (32-Bit Edition Only)

Turns the Control Station on and off.

Default command key:	None

This command turns the Control Station window on if it is off, and turns it off if it is on.

PFE will remember the state of the Control Station at the end of every session, and will automatically restart it in the next session when necessary.

This command is available only in the 32-Bit Edition

Using Control Station


The Template Menu

This menu item contains options that relate to handling templates. Not all the options will be shown if you don't have any files open.

Template Attach File

Template Detach File

Template Create File

Template Save File

Template Insert

Template Edit

Template New

Template Store

Template Store As

Template Delete

Template Insert Mark

Template Find Mark

About Templates


Template Attach File Command
Template Attach File

Attaches a template file, loading into memory so the templates within it can be used.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that allows you to browse the files on your disk for template files, which have type ".tpl".

You can arrange for PFE automatically to attach the template files you use frequently, and also automatically to attach one template file specific to the directory you start it in.

About Templates


Template Detach File Command
Template Detach File

Detaches a template file, unloading it from memory.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that allows you to specify which attached template files you wish to detach. Once a template file is detached, you cannot use the templates it contains.

You can't detach a template file if you're currently editing any of the templates it contains. You will need to save any changes you want to keep with the Template Store or Template Store As commands, and then close the windows.

About Templates


Template Create File Command
Template Create File

Creates an empty template file and automatically attaches it.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that allows you to choose the name of the template file to create. This should have a file type of ".tpl". PFE will create the file on disk and initialise it.

Template files do not contain pure text, and this is the only method by which you can create them.

About Templates


Template Save File Command
Template Save File

Saves a template file to disk after you have edited its contents

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that shows you the names of the attached template files that have changed. You can choose which of them to save.

Template operations such as edit, delete, new and store work only the copy of the template file in memory. Any changes you make are not recorded permanently until you use this command.

About Templates


Template Insert Command
Template Insert

Inserts a template from an attached template file into a window.

Default command key:	F9

Tool bar action:

The command starts a dialog that shows you the names of the attached template files, and the templates they contain. You can select any template from any file, then click OK to action the insert.

The template text is inserted into the current window at the position of the caret. Unlike the case of inserting a file from disk, the caret is left positioned at the start of the inserted text: this allows you to use the Template Find Mark command to fill in the positions marked as needing text input.

About Templates


Template Edit Command
Template Edit

Edits a template contained in an attached template file.

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Ctrl +

The command starts a dialog that shows you the names of the attached template files, and the templates they contain. You can select any template from any file, then press OK to edit it.

PFE will create a new window, and copy the text of the template into it. You can edit the template as you wish; then, when you've made the changes, you can use the Template Store command to update the in-memory copy of the template file.

Note that any changes you make will not be recorded permanently in the disk copy of the template file until you use the Template Save File command.

About Templates


Template New Command
Template New

Creates a new, empty window in which you can type the text of a new template.

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Shift +

The window created is not associated with either a template name, or a template file. To record what you've typed, you will need to use the Template Store As command to name the template and place it in a specific template file.

About Templates


Template Store Command
Template Store

Stores a template that you've been editing into the in-memory copy of the template file that it is associated with.

Default command key:	None

The previous version of the template that the template file contains will be overwritten by this command. You can store a maximum of 64 templates in a template file, and the total space used by all templates in the file cannot exceed a total of approximately 62 kilobytes.

Note that the template file on disk is not altered by this command. To save your changes permanently, you next need to use the Template Save File command.

If you created the window you're editing the template in with the Template New command, and haven't yet stored the template in a template file, this command will act like the Template Store As command.

About Templates


Template Store As Command
Template Store As

Stores a template that you've been editing into the in-memory copy of a template file, allowing you to specify both the template file, and the name of the template.

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that lets you specify the details of the operation. You should first select which of the attached template files you want to store the template file in, then specify the template name. The total space used by all templates in the file cannot exceed a total of approximately 62 kilobytes.

You can select the name of an existing template if you wish; as this will overwrite the previous contents, PFE will ask you to confirm that you really want to do this.

Note that the template file on disk is not altered by this command. To save your changes permanently, you next need to use the Template Save File command.

About Templates


Template Delete Command
Template Delete

Deletes templates from the in-memory copy of any attached template file

Default command key:	None

The command starts a dialog that lets you specify the details of the operation. You should first select which of the attached template files you want to delete templates from, then select one or more template names from the list of those it contains.

Note that the template file on disk is not altered by this command. To save your changes permanently, you next need to use the Template Save File command.

About Templates


Template Insert Mark Command
Template Insert Mark

Inserts a template mark into a template that you're editing

Default command key:	F6

A template mark is a sequence of characters ("<???>") that you can use to mark positions in a template where you need to put variable details after you've inserted it.

When you insert a template into a file, you can use the Template Find Mark command to quickly move to all the template marks in turn and replace them with whatever is appropriate.

About Templates


Template Find Mark Command
Template Find Mark

Moves the caret to the next template mark in a file or a template and highlights it

Default command key:	F4

Window mouse action:	Click right button and select Find Template Mark

A template mark is a sequence of characters ("<???>") that you can use to mark positions in a template where you need to put variable details after you've inserted it.

When you insert a template into a file, you can use this command to quickly move to all the template marks in turn and replace them with whatever is appropriate.

About Templates


The Execute Menu

This menu contains items that relate to running DOS commands and starting Windows applications.

Execute DOS Command to Window

Execute Repeat DOS Command to Window

Execute DOS Prompt

Execute Launch Application

Execute Control Panel

Execute Windows Explorer

Execute File Manager

Execute Print Manager

Execute Program Manager

Execute Task Manager

About Running DOS Commands

About Launching Windows Applications

About Adding Items To The Execute Menu


Execute DOS Command To Window Command
Execute DOS Command To Window

Executes a DOS application, such as a compiler or a built in command, and captures the output in a window.

Default command key:	F11

Tool bar action:

The command starts a dialog that lets you give the command line to be executed. It can be any DOS command, including built-in ones like "dir". You can also automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window into the command line.

You can specify the working directory that the command is to run in. This affects only the DOS command - PFE itself will still use its previous working directory. You can also automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window into the directory path you supply.

When you start the dialog, PFE sets the command string and the proposed working directory name to the values you set the last time you used it in this or a previous session.

You may execute only one DOS command at a time. Until the command completes, PFE will reject attempts to start another.

Because of the way that output is captured, it is not possible for you to interact with the program that you are running. This command is not suitable for running anything that may ask you for input.

By default, PFE will use the command processor defined in the environment variable COMSPEC to run the command you enter; this will normally be the standard programs command.com for the 16-Bit Edition, and cmd.exe for the 32-Bit Edition. The "Window Position Re-Use" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command allows you to override this and select another command processor, such as 4DOS, if you wish.

This command is not available if you are running the 16-Bit Edition under Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98 or the 32-Bit Edition under Windows 3.1x with Win32s.

About Running DOS Commands


Execute Repeat Last DOS Command To Window Command
Execute Repeat DOS Command To Window

Repeats the last DOS command you ran with the Execute DOS Command To Window command, capturing the command's output.

Default command key:	None

Tool bar action:	Shift +

PFE will repeat the last command exactly, and will show you the command output in a window when it completes. If you have not previously run a command, PFE will act as if you selected the  Execute DOS Command To Window command and will show you the dialog.

If the command line you specified in the dialog contained substitution points, or if the directory pathname you specified contained substitution points requesting that PFE automatically include parts of the file name of the file showing in the current window, these will be re-evaluated before the command is executed.

This command is not available if you are running the 16-Bit Edition under Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98 or the 32-Bit Edition under Windows 3.1x with Win32s.

About Running DOS Commands


Execute DOS Prompt

Starts a separate task running the DOS command processor

Default command key:	Ctrl+F11

Tool bar action:

PFE starts a new command processor task, which runs completely independently from it.

If you have defined a command processor with the "DOS Shell" Panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command, this program will be run.

If not, PFE will look at the environment variable COMSPEC, and if this is defined, will run the program named in it.

If neither of the above options specifies a command processor, PFE will start command.com (16-Bit Edition) or cmd.exe (32-Bit Edition)

About Running DOS Commands


Execute Launch Application Command
Execute Launch Application

Launches a DOS or Windows application as a task running independently of PFE

Default command key:	Shift+F11

Tool bar action:

The command starts a dialog that lets you give the command line to be executed. It can specify any DOS or Windows application. You can also automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window into the command line.

You can specify the working directory that the command is to run in. This affects only the application - PFE itself will still use its previous working directory. You can also automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window into the directory path you supply.

When you start the dialog, PFE sets the command string and the proposed working directory name to the values you set the last time you used it in this or a previous session.

Applications launched by this command run totally independently of PFE, and their output is not captured. To run something like a compiler, whose output you want to catch in an edit window, use the Execute DOS Command To Window command.

About Launching Windows Applications


Execute Control Panel Command
Execute Control Panel

Starts the Windows Control Panel application.

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows Control Panel. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Execute Explorer Command
Execute Windows Explorer

Starts the Windows Explorer

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows Explorer. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

This command is only available if you're running under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0.


Execute File Manager Command
Execute File Manager

Starts the Windows File Manager application.

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows File Manager. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Execute Print Manager Command
Execute Print Manager

Starts the Windows Print Manager application.

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows Print Manager. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

This command will not be available if you're working under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0.


Execute Program Manager Command
Execute Program Manager

Starts the Windows Program Manager application.

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows Program Manager. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Execute Task Manager Command
Execute Task Manager

Starts the Windows Task Manager application.

Default command key:	None

Normally PFE will execute the standard Windows Task Manager application. However, you can specify the command line to be executed with the "Windows Managers" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The Macro Menu

This menu item contains commands relevant to handling keyboard macros, which allow you to record sequences of keystrokes and menu commands and replay them.

Macro Start Recording

Macro Stop Recording

Macro Lock Recording

Macro Play Recording

Macro Show Last Error

Macro Edit Recording

Macro Save Recording

Macro Save Recording As

Macro Load Recording

Macro Librarian

Macro Show Edit Toobox


Macro Start Recording Command
Macro Start Recording

Starts recording your key presses, menu selections and toolbar actions as the active keyboard recording, which you can then replay as many times as you wish

Default command key:	Shift+F7

Tool bar action:

Once you've selected this command, PFE records all the keys you press, all the menu selections you make, and all the toolbar buttons you use, as the active keyboard recording. When you've performed all the actions you want recorded, use the Macro Stop Recording command to turn recording off.

Things that you type in dialog boxes are not recorded, nor are mouse actions other then menu or toolbar selections.

Once you have completed the recording, you can replay it as often as you wish with the Macro Play  Recording command.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Stop Recording Command
Macro Stop Recording

Stops recording your key presses, menu selections and toolbar actions in the active keyboard recording.

Default command key:	Ctrl+F7

Tool bar action:

Once you've selected this command, PFE no longer records your actions. You can then replay the active keyboard recording as often as you wish

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Lock Recording Command
Macro Lock Recording

Locks the active keyboard recording so you cannot accidentally record over it or edit it, or unlocks it to allow recording and editing

Default command key:	None

The menu item will show a check mark beside it if the active keyboard recording is locked. To unlock it, use the command again

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Play Recording Command
Macro Play Recording

Replays the active keyboard recording

Default command key:	F7

Tool bar action:	Shift +

The command causes PFE to replay all the key presses, menu selections and toolbar actionbs that you've recorded as the active keyboard recording. If any operation causes an error - for example, you might replay a File Save command when no file is open - the replay is terminated.

PFE does not record what you type in dialog boxes; thus, if any recorded key starts a dialog, you will need to fill in the details whenever you replay the macro. Pressing the Cancel button in any dialog will cause PFE to end the macro replay.

You can abandon the replay of the active keyboard recording by pressing the Escape key at any time.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Show Last Error Command
Macro Show Last Error

Starts the macro editor, opening the macro in which the last macro execution error occurred and positioning the caret at the start of the faulty line

Default command key:	None

This command can be used to locate an error in a macro that may not be obvious. You should issue the command immediately after the error has occurred; other macro menu items such as entering the Macro Librarian will clear the memory of the error.

Note that if you use a *OnError command within a macro to catch a recoverable error, the error will not be noted and cannot be found by this command

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Edit Recording Command
Macro Edit Recording

Starts the macro editor to edit the active keyboard recording

Default command key:	None

This command allows you to amend anything you've recorded as the active keyoard recording with the Macro Start Recording command. If you have not previously recorded anything, you can create an active keyboard recording from scratch.

Once you have finished editing, the Macro Save Recording or Macro Save Recording As commands can be used to compile the macro into usable form and save it to disk.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Save Recording Command
Macro Save Recording

Saves any changes the active keyboard recording to disk, so that it will be loaded automatically when you start PFE again

Default command key:	None

If you are not currently editing the active keyboard recording, the command simply saves the steps you have recorded to disk, in a file called pfe.kbm (for the 16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.kbm (for the 32-Bit Edition) in the startup files directory.

If you are editing the active keyboard recording, however, your alterations first need to be compiled into the internal form that PFE stores macros in. If the compilation detects no errors, the recording is saved; otherwise, you will see an error message and will need to correct your mistake.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Save Recording As Command
Macro Save Recording As

Starts a dialog allowing you save the active keyboard recording to a file of your choice.

Default command key:	None

Keyboard macro files recorded by this command should have a file type of ".kbm". You cannot add keyboard macros to macro libraries with this method.

You may not use this command if you are currently editing the active keyboard recording with the Macro Edit Recording command.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Load Recording Command
Macro Load Recording

Starts a dialog that allows you to load the active keyboard recording from a file saved by the Macro Save Recording As command.

Default command key:	None

Any current recording will be lost when you perform this operation.

Note that you cannot use this command to load keyboard macros from macro libraries.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Librarian Command
Macro Librarian

Starts the Macro Librarian dialog which lets you manipulate macro libraries and the macros they contain

Default command key:	None

The Macro Librarian dialog is the means by which you create macro libraries, add macros to them, edit the macros, and associate the macros to keyboard actions.

About Keyboard Macros


Macro Show Edit Toolbox

Shows or hides the Edit Tool Box dialog which provides you with help when editing keyboard macros.

Default command key:	None

The Edit Tool Box remains available until you dismiss it by either clicking the Hide button in the dialog, or by using this command again. When it is active, it will be visible only when the window you're editing contains a keyboard macro.

About Keyboard Macros


The Macro Edit Tool Box Dialog

This dialog, which you activate with the Macro Show Edit Tool Box command, provides you with some useful aids to editing keyboard macros.

The tool box is a modal dialog, which will remain visible while you work until you explicitly close it. As it works only with keyboard macros, it will be visible only when the window you're editing actually contains a macro.

The tool box helps you select the commands to add to the macro.

Steps

1	Position the caret in the macro at the start of a line, or, where appropriate, to follow a repeat count that you've typed to begin the line.

2	From the list box at the left of the tool box, select the command you want to use on this line

3	Click the Paste button to paste the command name into the macro

When you paste a PFE editor command (such as FileOpen or CaretRight), the toolbox will automatically add an end-of-line after the command name, since these commands cannot be followed by any arguments.

But when you paste a macro command such as *Loop, PFE will where appropriate follow the command name with a hint of what you should supply on the line following it. For example, you might see the pasted line appear as

*Loop OptionalCount

where here, the tool box is reminding you that the *Loop command can be followed, if you wish, by a  numeric count value.

The hint text will appear highlighted in the line; you should simply type what you want to put in its place and the hint will be overwritten and removed.

You can dismiss the tool box by clicking the Hide button. To show it again, you should use the Macro Show Edit Tool Box command.


The Window Menu

This menu item contains commands relevant to handling edit windows. It does not appear if you have no files open.

Window Tile Horizontal

Window Tile Vertical

Window Cascade

Window Iconize All

Window Restore All

Window Arrange Icons

Window Select

Window Next

Window Previous

Window Duplicate

Window Close

Window Widen

The Window List

About Window Manipulation


Window Tile Horizontal Command
Window Tile Horizontal

Arranges all the non-iconic edit windows in a tile pattern, placing them side by side so that each is as deep as possible.

Default command key:	Shift+F4

About Window Manipulation


Window Tile Vertical Command
Window Tile Vertical

Arranges all the non-iconic edit windows in a tile pattern, placing them one above the other so that each is a wide as possible.

Default command key:	None

About Window Manipulation


Window Cascade Command
Window Cascade

Arranges all non-iconic edit windows in a cascade pattern

Default command key:	Shift+F5

About Window Manipulation


Window Iconize All Command
Window Iconize All

Makes all edit windows into icons

Default command key:	None

About Window Manipulation


Window Restore All Command
Window Restore All

Makes all iconic edit windows into restored windows

Default command key:	None

About Window Manipulation


Window Arrange Icons Command
Window Arrange Icons

Arranges all iconic edit windows so that their icons are visible, in rows at the bottom of the PFE desktop.

Default command key:	None

Windows that are not icons are not affected by this command

About Window Manipulation


Window Select Command
Window Select

Allows you to choose between many open windows with a selection dialog

Default command key:	Ctrl+W

This command starts a dialog that lists the window captions of all the edit windows. You can refine the list to show only windows showing files that have associated names, windows showing un-named files, windows showing templates, or windows showing command output. You can also choose to see only windows that have been altered.

You can select the window you want to see from the dialog, and press the OK button to switch to it.


Window Next Command
Window Next

Moves the focus to the next edit window

Default command key:	Ctrl+F6

The sequence in which windows are activated will be the exact reverse of that obtained by the Window Previous command.

By default, this command will not activate any window that is currently iconic. You can change this behaviour with the "Windows Control" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Window Manipulation


Window Previous Command
Window Previous

Moves the focus to the previous edit window

Default command key:	Ctrl+Shift+F6

The sequence in which windows are activated will be the exact reverse of that obtained by the Window Next command.

By default, this command will not activate any window that is currently iconic. You can change this behaviour with the "Windows Control" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

About Window Manipulation


Window Duplicate Command
Window Duplicate

Makes an exact copy of the current window

Default command key:	None

The duplicate window created by this command shows the same file, with the caret in exactly the same place. All aspects of the new window are identical to the original.

You can produce as many duplicates of a window as you wish, and edit the same file in each of them,

About Window Manipulation


Window Close Command
Window Close

Closes the current window

Default command key:	None

If the window that you close is the only one showing that particular file, this command acts as if you'd used the File Close command. PFE will check whether the file has been changed, and will give you the opportunity of saving them.

About Window Manipulation


Window Widen Command
Window Widen

Alters the size and horizontal position of the current window to make it as wide as possible within the PFE desktop

Default command key:	None

The window's vertical size and position are not affected

About Window Manipulation


Window List

This is not a single menu item, but a list that is automatically added to the end of the Window menu whenever you open a window.

The list shows the window captions for up to 9 of the windows that you have open at the moment. You can switch to one of them simply by clicking the appropriate menu item.

If you have more than 9 windows open, a further command More Windows is added to the end of the list. This command is identical in effect to the Window Select command; it starts a dialog that lets you choose the window to activate.


The Help Menu

This menu lets you obtain help on using PFE, and also lets you run the Windows help engine on up to five help files of your own choice.

If you wish, you can always use the Help Contents command to enter the help system, and navigate through the information to find what you want. To help you locate things quickly, though, various other commands allow you to enter the help system at specific points; for example, the Help Commands command is useful if you want to look up a menu command to see what it does.

You can also obtain context-specific help when you're working in dialog boxes by either clicking on their Help buttons, or pressing the F1 key. Many message boxes that ask you questions will also show you help if you press the F1 key.

You can obtain interactive help on menu items and screen areas such as the tool bar and status bar by pressing Shift+F1 or using the Help Screen/Menu Help  command. This will let you point the mouse cursor at the menu item or screen area you want help on, and click the left mouse button to enter the help system.

The Help Context Help command allows you to enter a specific Windows help file using the text highlighted in the current window as a search key. This is a convenient way of obtaining help on, for example, Windows API routines.

Help Contents

Help Search For Help On

Help Screen/Menu Help

Help How To Use Help

Help Commands

Help Procedures

Help Reference

Help Context Help

Help About

User-Configurable Items


Help Contents Command
Help Contents

Starts the Windows help engine to give help on PFE. The help file is opened at the Contents page

Default command key:	F1


Help Search For Help On Command
Help Search For Help On

Starts a dialog that allows you to search the PFE help file for a given keyword

Default command key:	None

You can type the keyword you want to search for, or you can select one of the ones shown in the list, then click the Show Topics button to see all the help topics that refer to that keyword.

You can then select the topic that interests you, and open the help file to show it by clicking the Goto Topic button


Help Screen/Menu Help Command
Help Screen/Menu Help

Enters the interactive help system that lets you point the mouse cursor at the menu item or screen area you want help on

Default command key:	Shift+F1

When you use this command, the mouse cursor will change to become an arrow-and-question mark, to show that interactive help is active.

For help on an area of the status bar or on a tool bar button, point the mouse cursor at the appropriate part of the screen and click the left button once. For help on a menu item, select the item as you would do actually to use the command, and click the left button.

PFE will start the Windows help engine, and will show the topic appropriate to where you clicked the mouse button.

If you decide you don't want interactive help after using the command, you can return the mouse cursor to normal by pressing the Escape key.

When interactive help is operating, any keys you press will be ignored, and the tool bar, status bar and menu items will not have their normal effect.


Help How To Use Help Command
Help How To Use Help

Starts the Windows help engine to give you help on how the help system works

Default command key:	None


Help Commands Command
Help Commands

Starts the Windows help engine to give help on PFE's menu commands.

Default command key:	None


Help Procedures Command
Help Procedures

Starts the Windows help engine to give help on how you perform various tasks using PFE.

Default command key:	None


Help Reference Command
Help Reference

Starts the Windows help engine to give help on PFE. The help file is opened at the Reference section, which gives you such items as the list of functions that you can bind to keys, and so on

Default command key:	None


Help Context Command
Help Context Help

Starts the Windows help engine to give help associated with text in the current window

Default command key:	Ctrl+F1

Mouse shortcut:	Double-click the right button

If you have some highlighted text in the current window, PFE will pass the first 64 characters of it (with leading and trailing spaces removed, and non-printable characters converted to spaces) to the Windows help engine as a partial key.

With no text highlighted, PFE first performs an Edit Select Word command to select the entire word containing the caret, then passes this to the help engine.

You can specify the name of the help file to be searched for context help with the "User Help Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

 If the help file contains an exact match for the text, you will see the appropriate help entry; if not, you will see a list of possible topics that might match.


Help About Command
Help About

Starts a dialog that gives you information about the particular version of PFE that you're using.

Default command key:	None


Help User-Configurable Items

This is not a single Help menu item, but a list that you can define for yourself, so that you can access the help files that you want to work with quickly from PFE's own help menu.

PFE allows you to define up to five help files, and associate each with a menu item that is appended to the end of the Help menu, with the "User Help Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Reference Not Available

Sorry, the material for this section is not yet complete


Procedures

This section of the help file contains overviews and descriptive material that will explain the features of PFE, and tell you the exact steps you need to take to achieve results.

In many cases, the descriptions will discuss running a dialog to perform an action. These topics will have links that take to step-by-step instructions for working with the dialogs; you can also access these instructions by clicking the Help button in the dialog itself, or by pressing the F1 key.

Starting Up

Starting PFE

Running Single Or Multiple Instances

Specifying A Key Mapping File On The Command Line

Command Line Options

Working With Directories

Setting The Current Working Directory

Working With Files

Associating File Types With PFE

Opening Existing Files From File Manager

Opening Existing Files From Windows Explorer

Opening Existing Files From PFE

Opening A File Named In An Edit Window's Text

Opening Files From The PFE Command Line

Opening Files From The MRU List

Creating A New File

Inserting An Existing File

Changing An Associated File Name

Saving A File To Disk

Closing A File

Mailing A File

Printing A File

Printing All Open Files

Backing Up Existing Files

Working With Unix Format Files

Using PFE As A File Printer

Handling Text

Typing Text

Deleting Text

Selecting Text

Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text

Dragging And Dropping Text

Finding Text

Replacing Text

Text Processing Operations

Undoing Edit Actions

Templates

File And Window Modes

Moving About

Moving To Specific Lines

Finding Text

System Control

Window Manipulation

Screen Fonts

The Status Bar

The Tool Bar

Key Mapping

Using A Microsoft IntelliMouse

Ending A PFE Session

Exiting Windows

Using Context Menus

The Edit Context Menu

The Workspace Context Menu

Using Keyboard Macros

About Keyboard Macros

The Active Keyboard Recording

The Keyboard Macro Language And The Macro Editor

Running Other Applications

Running DOS Commands

Launching Windows Applications

DDE

Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

Configuring PFE

Configuring your Preferences

Working With Multiple Configurations (32-Bit Edition Only)

Using Registry Configuration Sets

Control Station (32-Bit Edition Only)

Using The Control Station


Starting PFE

Like any other Windows application, PFE can be started in a variety of ways. Note that it's strongly recommended that you use only the 16-Bit Edition under Windows 3.1x, and only the 32-Bit Edition under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.

Under Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51 you can start it:

-	From Program Manager by double-clicking on a PFE icon in a program group

-	From File Manager you by double clicking on the PFE executable's name

-	From File Manager by double clicking on the name of a file that you have associated with PFE

-	From File Manager by dragging and dropping a file onto the PFE executable's name

Under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 you can start it:

-	From Windows Explorer or from the desktop by clicking on a PFE shortcut, or on the file name of the PFE executable.

-	From Windows Explorer by double clicking on the name of a file that you have associated with PFE

-	From Windows Explorer by dragging and dropping a file on a PFE shortcut.

Additionally, the DOS command shell under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT allows you to type a command line that starts PFE directly.

By default, only one instance of PFE will run at a time. When you start a second one, it will pass control to the first, commanding it to open any files you've given on the command line.

If you wish, you can use the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to have PFE perform some file actions automatically as it starts up.  You can instruct to PFE create an empty, unnamed window, or show you the dialog for opening files when you start it with no file names on the command line.

Running Single Or Multiple Instances

Specifying A Key Mapping File On The Command Line

Command Line Options


Running Single Or Multiple Instances

By default, PFE attempts to run only one instance of itself at any time. When you start it for a second time, the first instance is detected, and it is activated. Any file names that you gave on the command line are passed to this first instance across a DDE link.

In many cases, you'll find this a convenient way to work, as it reduces the clutter on your screen, and you don't have to worry about which version of PFE is editing what file.

However, if you're working on several things at the same time, it can be distracting to have unrelated files being edited in the same instance of the editor, so PFE gives you the choice of running multiple copies of itself when you want.

INITIALISATION FILE CONFIGURATION

The easiest way to set PFE up to run with multiple copies of itself is to use the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. to set this.

COMMAND LINE CONFIGURATION

You can also control how PFE starts by using command line options, which overrides the values set with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. If you specify the "/m" option, PFE will always start a new instance; if you specify "/s", it will always try to activate a previous instance.

You may find it convenient to set up several icons in your Program Manager groups with different command line options. For example, you could have a general icon with a command line of simply

pfe

to start PFE up for general editing. To edit your system files, you might have icons with command lines like:

pfe /m c:\windows\win.ini

pfe /m c:\autoexec.bat

and so on. These will start independent instances of PFE to edit these files, without getting in the way of any other editing work you're engaged in.

Note that if you're using the 32-Bit Edition and want to edit files with names containing spaces, make sure you enclose the filename in quotes like this:

pfe32 /m ":\a long file name.txt"

DDE CONSIDERATIONS

When you start PFE with the "/m" command line option, or if you don't use a command line option and have run-mode set to 1 in your initialisation file, the instance of PFE that starts will not run as a DDE server. This is so that any instance you start later with a "/s" switch will not activate this instance instead.

If you want an instance of PFE to run as a DDE server, you can either start PFE with a "/s" option (if run-mode is not set to 0) or use the Options DDE Server command to start any instance running a server.

Note that if you have more than one instance of PFE running as a DDE server, it's not predictable which of them will be connected to by another application. If you do use DDE, it's normally best to ensure that only one instance of PFE runs, or only one of several instances is acting as a server.


Specifying A Key Mapping File On The Command Line

By default, PFE will look for a file called pfe.key (if you're running the 16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.key (if you're running the 32-Bit Edition) in your Windows directory when it starts, and will load the key mappings that it contains. You can change the name of this default key mapping file with the "Key Mapping" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

If you sometimes need to load key mappings from some other file on start-up, or to force PFE to use the built-in defaults described in this help file, you can use the "/k" command line option to name any key map file. For example, starting PFE with a command line

pfe /k c:\keymaps\uemap.key

would load the key mappings in the file c:\keymaps\uemap.key. If you have a key map file pfe.key, but want to use the built-in key mappings described in this help file instead, use the "/k" option and give the filename as the single character "-" (minus).

Note that when you use the "/k" option, the dialog started by the Options Key Mapping command will not save changed mappings to the file you specify, or to the standard key mapping file, by default. When saving you will need always to give an explicit file name.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, and the keymap file name contains spaces, you must make sure to enclose the name in quotes like this:

pfe32 /k "e:\my pfe keymaps\uemacs keys.key"


Setting The Current Working Directory

Every instance of PFE that you run, like every other Windows application, has associated with it the name of its current working directory. This is the default directory for almost all the operations that you carry out on files; for example, when you use the File Open command to open an existing file, the dialog that is started will initially show the files that are in the current working directory.

Depending on how you want to work, and where you choose to store the files you need to use, you may find that you benefit from customising some aspects of directory handling, or from adopting some of the working techniques described below.

The methods given here are not mutually-exclusive; almost certainly you'll find it beneficial to combine a number of techniques and methods.

Starting PFE in a specific directory

A common requirement is to start PFE in specific, different directories for specific tasks.

The easiest way to achieve this is to set up separate Program Manager icons or Explorer shortcuts for PFE, each of which can be set to start in a specific working directory. You should consult your Windows documentation and help files for how to do this.

Another technique that is available with the 32-Bit Edition, is more complex to set up but with many more applications. Here you create a new registry configuration set for each project you are working on, and with each set selected use the Options Preferences command's "Working Directory" panel to specify that PFE should start always in a specific directory. Then you can create shortcuts that start PFE with the "/r" command line option to select that registry configuration set; every time you start PFE with such a shortcut you will pick up the project-specific data, including the working directory setting.

Tracking directories as you open files

By default the working directory remains unchanged when you open files, even if they are from different directories. However, you can use the Options Preferences command's "General Options" panel to specify that the dialogs run by the File Open and related commands change the working directory whenever you open a file to the one that the file is held in.

PFE also maintains a list of the files you've edited most recently, and these appear on the File Menu. By default, the working directory is not changed when you select a file from this list; however you can specify that you want to reset the directory with the "MRU List" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Tracking directories across sessions

You can elect to have each session of PFE begin with a working directory that is the same as the working directory that the previous session finished in, using the Options Preferences command's "Working Directory" panel

Setting this option will override any initial directory you define in a Program Manager icon or Explorer shortcut.

Changing the working directory within a session

You can also manually select a new current working directory at any time you are using PFE. There are several ways to accomplish this:

-	The File Change Directory command allows you to select any directory as the current working directory. This command is also available in the Workspace Context Menu that appears when you click the right mouse button in PFE's main window.

-	The File Change To File's Directory command will change the current working directory to be the one containing the current file. This command is also available from the Edit Context Menu, which appears when you click the right mouse button over the current edit window.


Associating File Types With PFE

To take full advantage of the facilities that Windows offers to help you edit files, you'll probably want to associate the types of the files you commonly use with the PFE program.

With Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51:

-	You'll be able to double-click on a file in the File Manager and have PFE open it

-	You'll be able to drag a file from File Manager and drop it onto the Print Manager to have PFE print it for you.

With Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0:

-	You'll be able to double-click on a file or shortcut in Windows Explorer or on the desktop and have PFE open it

-	You'll be able to drag a file or shortcut from Windows Explorer or the desktop and drop it onto a printer shortcut to have PFE print it for you.

-	You'll be able to open or print a file from Windows Explorer by clicking the right mouse button and selecting the appropriate item from the context menu.

Although you can create associations manually, it's much better to let PFE set them up for you, as then all details are guaranteed to be correct. You do this using the "Associations" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Opening Existing Files From File Manager

If you're using Windows 3.1x or Windows NT 3.51, you'll probably use the File Manager to navigate around your disks to find the files you want to edit with PFE.

Once you've found them, you can start to edit them in several ways. The techniques available will depend on whether you have used the "Associations" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to associate the file type with PFE or not.

If you've associated the file type with PFE:

-	You can double-click on a filename, and PFE will be started to edit the file.

Whether or not you've associated the file type with PFE:

-	You can click on the file icon, and drag it to lie over a PFE main window. Releasing the mouse button will drop the file into PFE and open it for editing.

If the files you select have the Read Only directory attribute set, PFE will open them in read-only mode.


Opening Existing Files From Windows Explorer

If you're using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, you'll probably use the Windows Explorer to navigate around your disks to find the files you want to edit with the 32-Bit Edition of PFE.

Once you've found them, you can start to edit them in several ways. The techniques available will depend on whether you have used the "Associations" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to associate the file type with PFE or not.

If you've associated the file type with PFE:

-	You can double-click on a filename, and PFE will be started to edit the file.

-	You can click the right mouse button on the file name to obtain a context menu, and select Edit with PFE to begin editing the file.

Whether or not you've associated the file type with PFE:

-	You can click on the file icon, and drag it to lie over a PFE main window. Releasing the mouse button will drop the file into PFE and open it for editing.

If the files you select have the Read Only directory attribute set, PFE will open them in read-only mode.


Opening Existing Files
Opening Existing Files From PFE

To start working with existing files from inside PFE, use the File Open or File View commands; or click the right mouse button within the PFE workspace window and select either Edit existing file or View existing file from the workspace context menu. If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue these commands from the Control Station.

These actions will start the appropriate standard file open dialog or file view dialog that allows you to move around your directories to find the file you want to work with.

If you use one of the "view" commands, PFE will always open the file you specify in read-only mode. If you use one of the "edit" commands, PFE will normally open the file for editing; but you'll be able to specify that you want read-only mode from within the dialog.

By default, PFE allows you to open one file at a time in the various dialogs, but you can use the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify that you want the ability to open several files in one operation

Whatever options you use, any file whose directory attributes include Read Only will always be opened in read-only mode. You can easily change a file's read-only state at any time by using the status bar.

Normally, the dialogs that open and save files will show you all the files that exist in each directory. You can arrange to set up your own selections by configuring the filter list that appears in the dialogs.

When each file is loaded, PFE looks at the file type to determine such things as the tab size to use, whether to treat the file as C language source, whether automatically to strip any final Ctrl+Z character, and so on. You can configure the settings it uses for different file types with the Options Default  Modes command.

If you select a file that is already open, PFE will not load a new copy from disk. Instead, it will activate one of the windows that are currently showing the file.

PFE will examine the contents of the file specified to see if it is a template file. If it is, it will be attached rather than opened for editing.

PFE can open files that are stored in the normal MS-DOS format (using CR-LF bytes to mark the end of each line) or in Unix format (using a single LF byte) automatically.

Handling Long File Names Under Windows NT 3.51


Handling Long File Names Under Windows NT 3.51

The 32-Bit Edition of PFE is fully able to handle the long file names that are supported by Windows NT, Windows 95 and Windows 98. However, because of some design restrictions within Windows, there are some effects that you need to bear in mind if you are using Window NT 3.51.

You do not need to be concerned with this section if you are using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0

By default, all the commands that open files allow you to open only one file at a time. In this mode, all long file names are handled correctly, including those that contain spaces.

However, PFE lets you use the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify that you want the ability to open several files in one operation.

If you are using Windows NT 3.51, you will find that with this option enabled, long file names that contain spaces will no longer be shown in the file opening dialogs; instead you will see the translated "8.3" DOS-style filename. This is caused by a design defect in Windows NT 3.51 that has no remedy.

You will thus need to work out which 8.3-style file name corresponds to the file you wish to edit. However, when you actually open the file, PFE will translate the 8.3-style file name back into the correct long file name for you, so that from then on you need not be concerned with the short name.


Opening A File Named In An Edit Window's Text

If you're using PFE to compile source files and capturing the output, you'll very often find that you have command output windows that contain error messages reporting a problem in a specific file.

You can quickly open a file named in such output - or whose name is contained in the text in any edit window - by selecting the filename, clicking the right mouse button, and selecting the Open Selected File item.

PFE will read the highlighted text as a filename and attempt to open the file for editing.

Note that if the filename is not a full, absolute directory path, it will be treated as a name relative to PFE's current working directory.


Opening Files From The PFE Command Line

PFE allows you to open one or more files from the command line. If you're using Windows 3.1x, you can define a suitable command line in a Program Manager icon; with Windows NT, Windows 95 and Windows 98 you'll be able to type the command line directly in a DOS command prompt window.

For example, the command line

pfe32 data.txt "my results.txt"

would start the 32-Bit Edition, and open the two files data.txt and my results.txt for editing. Note that, because the second file's name contains spaces, you must enclose it within quotes. If you prefer, you can specify files with their names in short "8.3" format; the 32-Bit Edition will automatically translate these back to their long name form for you.

You can also specify that files should be opened in read-only mode by using the "/v" command line option. Thus

pfe /v listing.txt

would start the 16-Bit Edition and open listing.txt in read-only mode. The "/v" option applies to all the files you specify on the command line.

PFE also allows you to move the caret to a specific position within the first file you name on the command line. For example, the command line

pfe32 /g32 output.txt

would open the file output.txt for editing, and position the caret to the start of line 32. The "/g" option can accept a wide range of file position specifications identifying where you want to move to.

If a file that you specify on the command line does not exist, PFE will ask if you want to create it. If you say "no", the open will fail; if you say "yes", PFE will create an empty file on your disk and then open it for you.


Opening Files From The MRU List

PFE maintains a list of the files that you've edited most recently, and their names appear on the File Menu. The names of the files on the list are shortened whenever possible to be relative to PFE's current working directory.

Selecting a file's name from the list will re-open it, and PFE will attempt to position the window that shows the file, and the caret within the text, as they were when you last finished editing the file. Note, though, that if you've altered the file in some other application since you last used it in PFE, the caret will be placed at the start of the file instead.

Normally, PFE will open a file from the MRU list for editing. However, if you hold the Ctrl key down when you select the menu item, the file will be opened in read-only mode.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition of PFE, you can open files in the MRU list from the Control Station. This always shows you the complete list of files, and the files are presented as full path names in alphabetical order.

The Control Station also allows you to remove files from the MRU list if you want to amend it.


Configuring The File Type Filters

Whenever you use one of the File Open, File View, File Insert, File Save As or File Write commands, PFE will show you a standard Windows dialog that allows you choose the filename to use, moving around all your directories.

The possible file names in the current directory are shown in the list on the left; the files shown in this list are determined by your selection from the List Files of Type list at bottom left.

By default, there will be only one item in the list, which selects all files, using a pattern of "*.*". If you wished, you could configure this list to let you select a smaller group of files: for example, if you program in C, you might wish to see only files with types of ".c" and ".h" in one group, and files of type ".dlg" in another.

To set up the file filters that you require, use the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Creating A New File

The File New command opens a new, empty window in which you can type.

The window will not initially be associated with a file name. In order to save what it contains to disk, you'll need to use a command such as File Save As, which allows you to set the file name.

When the window is created, PFE applies the set of modes - that is, the tab size, wrap column, and other details - that are defined for "new files". You can use the Options Current  Modes command to change them for the new window; or you can change the default settings using the Options Default Modes command.


Inserting An Existing File

To insert an existing file into the window that you're editing, place the caret to the point at which you want the insertion to be made, then use the File Insert command.

This starts a standard dialog that allows you to move around your directories to find the file you want to insert. PFE can insert files that are in normal MS-DOS format (using CR-LF bytes to mark the ends of lines) or in Unix format (using single LF bytes) automatically.

PFE will insert the file into the window, leaving the caret positioned after the last character inserted.

By default, the dialog will show you all the files existing in each directory, but you can configure it to show you a restricted set.

If the file to be inserted is a template file, PFE will reject the operation.


Changing A File Name

When you edit a file, PFE will associate the name of the file with all the windows that show it. When you then use the File Save command to write the file to disk, PFE will use the associated name when it opens the file.

Some windows - such as those that you've created with the File New command, or those holding DOS command output produced by the Execute DOS Command To Window command - will not have file names associated with them. Or you may want to change the associated name to something else.

You can change the file name associated with a window, and save it to disk at the same time, by using the File Save As command. This runs a dialog that allows you to specify a file name; after saving the file, that file name is associated with all the windows showing the same file.

Alternatively, you can change the file name without writing to disk by using the File Name command. This also runs a dialog that lets you specify the associated file name, but makes no changes to your disk.

Whatever method you use to change the name of a file, PFE will examine the name and change the file and window modes that apply to the file, and to the current window, to match the new file extension.


Saving A File To Disk

To save a file to disk you have a choice of two commands.

-	The File Save command will save the contents of the current window to disk, using the file name that's associated with the window. Any previous contents of the file will be lost.

-	The File Save As command prompts you to supply the name of the disk file to write to. If you choose an existing file, PFE will warn you and ask if you really intend to overwrite it. The file name you give then becomes associated with the window.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue these commands from the Control Station.

If the window doesn't have a file name associated with it yet, both commands will ask for a file name. You can also associate a file name with a window at any time, without writing it to disk, using the File Name command.

If the current window contains a template, you won't be able to use the File Save or File Save As command. Instead, use the Template Store or Template Store As commands.

By default, you can't use the File Save command if you haven't changed the file. You can configure PFE to allow you to do this with the "Saving Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

When saving a file, PFE will normally preserve a backup copy of any existing file of the same name, so that you can quickly revert to a previous version of your work.

Setting The Format of the Saved File

Backing Up Existing Files


Setting The Format of a Saved File

PFE can save files using two ways of marking the end of each line:

-	DOS Format writes the file so that each line is terminated by a carriage-return byte and a line-feed byte. This is the normal format for DOS files, and you should use this if you want the file to be readable by other DOS applications.

-	UNIX Format writes the file so that each line is terminated by only a line-feed byte. This is the format used in UNIX systems; however, the file probably won't be usable with other DOS or Windows applications.

The format that PFE will use to save a file is shown in the status bar.

There are several ways to set the format that a file will be saved in:

-	By default, PFE will detect that a file is in Unix format when it is opened, and will set the save format to "Unix".

-	You can change between DOS and Unix formats by double-clicking the left mouse button in the format area of the status bar.

-	You can use the Options Current Modes command to change the format of the current file.

-	You can use the Options Default Modes command to set the format for files of specific types.

You can also control two aspects of what happens to the final line in the file when it is saved:

-	You can choose whether or not the last data character in the file is followed by a line terminator. By default, PFE will always write a line terminator.

-	You can choose to have PFE automatically add a Ctrl+Z character after the file data has been written. (If the last character in the file is already a Ctrl+Z character, PFE will not add a second)

You can determine the settings used for the current file with the Options Current Modes command, and can set the default values used for files of given file types with the  Options Default  Modes command.

Working With Unix Format Files


Backing Up Existing Files

When you save a file to disk, it's often desirable to be able to keep a copy of any file of the same name that already exists. You can then quickly revert to a previous version of your work.

By default, all operations that write files to disk will perform a backup action. You can turn backup actions off completely, or configure the details of their operation, with the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

One way of backing up files is to have PFE maintain backup copies of files in the same directories as the files themselves. The exact steps taken are these:

1	If the file being saved exists already, PFE renames it:

For the 16-Bit Edition, the new file name is the same as the original, with the file type changed to be ".$$$". Any file of this name that exists already will be overwritten; if the file already has a file type of ".$$$", no backup is taken.

For the 32-Bit Edition, if the file system you're using supports long file names, the new file name will be the same as the original, with ".$$$" appended to the end. If long file names are not available (as may happen on some old NFS implementations) the new file name will be the original, with the file type changed to be ".$$$"

2	The data in the current window is then saved to disk

Then, if you need to revert to the previous version of the file, you will find it in the same directory as the original, with a file type of ".$$$"

You can choose to use a different file extension to indicate a backup file with the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Alternatively, you can set PFE to maintain backup copies of files in subdirectories. The exact actions taken are these:

1	If it does not already exist, PFE will create a backup sub-directory in the same directory that contains the file to be backed up. The directory will be called "$PFEBK" by default; but if you wish it to have another name you can set this with the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

2	The file that would be overwritten is moved into this backup sub-directory, replacing any file of the same name that is already there.

3	The data in the current window is then saved to disk

Then, if you need to revert to the previous version of the file, you will find it in the backup sub-directory, with the same name as the original file.

If the file you're editing is actually in a backup sub-directory already, PFE will warn you of this before doing anything else. You will be given the choice of creating a further backup sub-directory as described above; or of saving the file without taking a backup; or of cancelling the operation.

You do need to take care that the process of taking a backup does not require the use of any pathname that exceeds the maximum supported by the operating system..

Each backup mode has advantages and disadvantages.

-	Backing up to files with a type of ".$$$" (or whatever your choice is) avoids creating lots of directories, but can clutter your source directory.

-	For the 16-Bit Edition, or if long file names are not supported, editing files with similar names (such as main.c and main.h) will cause the backup for each to be in main.$$$, so you will be able to revert only the file that was saved last. It's also not obvious which file is actually backed up.

-	Backing up to subdirectories guarantees that each file is backed up to a unique file, and it's easy to associate a backup with an original. However, you can end up with a lot of subdirectories.

-	Backing up to subdirectories keeps all your backup files in a single place, so you can delete them in one operation.

If you don't want to keep backup copies, you have several ways of telling PFE not to do so

-	You can use the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to disable backups completely for all files

-	If you're using the File Save As or File Write commands, you can check or clear the Keep Backup checkbox to activate or deactivate backup for this file only, on this write operation only.

-	You can use the Options Current Modes command to turn off backup for the file shown in the active window for all future write operations.

-	You can use the Options Default Modes command to turn off backup for files of given types, or for all files, for all future write operations.

Of course, whichever mode you select, maintaining backup copies of all the files that you edit can consume a large amount of disk space. If you find that you are unable to save a large file, you can try to perform the operation with backup disabled.


Closing A File

When you've finished editing a file, you can close it with the File Close command. PFE will close all the windows that are showing the same file as the current window.

If you haven't yet saved some changes to the file, PFE will give you the opportunity to either write the file to disk before it is closed, or to abandon the operation.

If you want to close all the files that you are working on, use the File Close All command.

Closing the last, or only, window showing a file has the same effect as the File Close command.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue these commands from the Control Station.

If you're using PFE as an edit server for some other application, you may find it convenient to have the main window become an icon when you've closed all the files you've been working with. You can select this with the "Window Control" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Mailing A File

If you have a MAPI-compliant mail system such as Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Windows Message System or Microsoft Exchange installed on your system, you can mail files to other people directly from PFE.

To mail the file shown in the current window, simply select the File Mail command. PFE writes the data to a temporary file, and calls the mail system to send it as an attachment in a mail message.

If you aren't currently running the mail application, or if you aren't logged in to your mailbox, you'll see a dialog that asks you for your mail username and password. You'll then see the standard mail composition window, with the file you're sending shown in the message as the PFE icon, and you can add text or other attachments as you want.

If you're editing a file that already exists on your disk, this copy is not altered by this process.

Note that you'll need to have sufficient room on your disk for PFE to save the entire contents of the current window as a temporary file. This temporary file will be deleted once the mail process is complete.


Printing A File

You can print the file that is being shown in an edit window by using the File Print menu command. PFE will show you a dialog that lets you choose what part of the file you want to print: you can select to print either all of it, or only the part that you've selected, or the part between two line numbers.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.

You can specify the last line of the file as the word end in the rightmost of the line range edit controls.

If you have highlighted some text in the edit window, the default action in the dialog will be to print the selected text only; otherwise, the default action is to print the whole of the file.

The dialog box shows you the name of the printer that PFE is currently using - if you haven't specified otherwise, this will be your system default printer.

The file is printed using the same tab width that is being used in the window, and with line numbers if you have line numbering turned on. You can configure both these settings with Options Current Modes menu command.

You can quickly turn line numbering on or off by clicking the line number toggle button on the tool bar.

PFE supports a wide range of printing layouts, which you can select with the File Page Setup command. You can print one page of text to each side of paper, or place two pages side-by-side, or arrange the text as a booklet; and you can have the sheets of paper output in forward or reverse order to suit your physical printer.

If the file type of the file you want to print has been associated with PFE, you can print the whole of it as a drag-and-drop operation.

If you're using Windows 3.1x or Windows NT 3.51:

-	Drag the file to be printed from File Manager and drop it onto the Print Manager window. The file will be printed to the system default printer.

If you're using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0:

-	Drag the file to be printed from Windows Explorer and drop it onto a printer shortcut. If the printer shortcut refers to your system default printer, the file will be printed at once; if the shortcut is for a different printer, Windows will first ask if it should be made the default printer.

Setting Up The Printer

Selecting A Printer Font

Setting Up The Page Layout

Printing Booklets


Printing All Open File
Printing All Open Files

You can print all the files that are currently open by using the File Print All menu command. If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.

PFE will show you a dialog that lets you specify whether the files are printed with line numbering; whether long lines are wrapped to fit the paper; and whether pages have headers.

Each file is printed using the same tab width that is being used in one of the  windows showing it.

With this command, PFE will always print the whole of every file. Should you need to print only a part of some or all of the files, you will need to print each one individually.

The files you have open will be printed in ascending alphabetical order of their full path names.

Normally, each file is sent to the printer as a separate print job, so that if you are printing to a network server that generates banner pages, each file will have a separate banner. The "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command allows you to group multiple prints into a single print job, so that only a single banner is generated, however many files you print. Each file, though, will still begin on a new sheet of paper.

Setting Up The Printer

Selecting A Printer Font


Setting Up The Printer

To configure the printer that PFE is to use, use the File Print Setup menu command or click the Setup button in the dialog started by the File Print menu command. This will start the printer setup dialog.

The dialog lets you specify the printer you want to use, and to configure its properties.

The Printer Setup Dialog


Selecting A Printer Font

Clicking the Select printer font button in the dialog started by the File Page Setup command starts a sub-dialog that lets you select the font to be used with the selected printer device.

Because PFE is a text editor rather than a word processor, you're restricted to choosing fixed pitch fonts, where the characters are all the same width.

PFE records the values you set in this dialog with the selected printer: the next time you choose this device, it will use the same settings.

The Printer Font Dialog


Setting Up The Page Layout

The File Page Setup command allows you to define the various details of how your printed pages will appear.

You can select:

-	The orientation of the paper

-	The font that is to be used

-	Whether you want to leave margins at any of the edges of the page

-	Whether you want to print one or two pages of file data on each sheet of paper. You can choose to order the pages serially, or so that you can fold the sheets to make a booklet

-	Whether you want to print the pages in forward order or reverse order

-	Whether any page headers you select with the File Print command are set out against a shaded background or not

The settings are recorded permanently on a per-printer basis.


Booklet Printing

PFE allows you to print files in a way that can form booklets, where each sheet of paper contains two pages of file text side-by-side, and is folded down the centre line.

As with a real bound book, PFE arranges the sheets of paper for a booklet into signatures. When you stack all the sheets of paper in a signature together, and fold them as a unit down the centre line, the pages on each side of each sheet will appear in the correct reading order.

Normally, PFE will use a maximum of four sheets of paper in any signature, but the File Page Setup command allows you to set this to any value between 1 and 16. The value you choose will depend on how you're going to physically bind the sheets, and also on the paper thickness.

Normally, you would select a duplex printing mode when you're printing a booklet. Here, the printer will print on both sides of each sheet of paper, and binding each signature involves simply picking up the batch of paper and folding.

However, you might want to produce master sheets for photocopying or for printing on some other device, and here you can select a single-sided (simplex) print mode. PFE will now print on one side of each sheet of paper; if you then take the stack of paper and input this to a single-sheet-to-double-sided copier, the result will be the same as if you'd printed in duplex mode. In the cases where the signature might require some blank sides, PFE will output blank sheets of paper to keep the copier in sequence.

Depending on the physical mechanism in your printer, you may need to adjust the left, right and centre margins that PFE uses to provide adequate room around the centre fold line.


Working With Unix Format Files

Under MS-DOS, files are normally stored with the end of every line indicated by a Carriage-Return (CR) byte followed by a Line-Feed byte (LF). Most MS-DOS and Windows programs expect files to be in this format, and will not work correctly otherwise.

However, you may wish sometimes to handle files in Unix format, where lines are terminated by a single LF byte. You may have downloaded a file from a Unix system that needs conversion, or you may be using PFE to edit files on an NFS-mounted Unix file system, for example.

PFE is able to handle files in either MS-DOS or Unix format (or indeed, files using a combination of formats). By default PFE will detect that a file is in Unix format, and automatically set that format for when the file is saved.

The format that PFE will use to save a file in is shown in the status bar. You can quickly change the format by double-clicking the left mouse button in the appropriate area.

Opening Unix Format Files

Saving Files In Unix Format

Detecting Unix Format Automatically


Opening Unix Format Files

PFE handles opening and reading files in Unix format automatically, and you need take no special action to tell it that the file you are opening or inserting is a Unix file.

Depending on how have you have configured the optional file modes associated with the file type of the file being opened, PFE may set the Save in UNIX format mode on the file, so that when you write it to disk, lines will be terminated by single line-feed characters.

By default, files that are detected as being in Unix format when they are opened will be saved in Unix format.


Saving Files In Unix Format

PFE is able to write files to disk in either the normal MS-DOS format, using CR-LF as a line terminator, or in Unix format, using LF.

The format used to write a file is determined by one of the file modes - the Save in Unix Format mode - that you can associate with a file. You can set this mode in several ways:

-	You can check the Unix format box in the dialog shown when you use the File Save As command. This will save the current file in UNIX format, and will also set the Save in Unix Format mode so that this becomes the default format when you write the file to disk again

-	You can double click the left mouse button in the area of the status bar that shows the file format until it shows the word "Unix".

-	You can check the Save in Unix Format box in the dialog started by the Options Current Modes command. This also makes Unix format the default for every time you write the file to disk

-	You can have PFE set the mode automatically when the file is opened by using the Options Default Modes command. This lets you set the mode on either every file that you open, or only on those with specified file types


Detecting Unix Format Automatically

When opening a file, PFE looks at what characters are used to terminate a line. If the first line is terminated by a single Line-Feed character, PFE assumes that the file is in Unix format; otherwise, it will assume the file is in MS-DOS format.

Normally, if a file appear to be in Unix format when opened, PFE will automatically set the Save in Unix Format file mode, so that when you save the file it will be written in the same Unix format.

If you work with Unix files on your system, this will probably be what you want to happen. However, if you normally want to save files in DOS format, however they look originally, you can disable this feature with the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Using PFE As A File Printer

You can use PFE as a file-printer application, which can automatically print files for you.

In order automatically to print a file, you must have first associated its type (i.e. the part of the file name after the final "." character) with PFE. Once this has been done, you can print the whole of the file as a drag-and-drop operation.

If you're using Windows 3.1x or Windows NT 3.51:

-	Drag the file to be printed from File Manager and drop it onto the Print Manager window. The file will be printed to the system default printer.

If you're using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0:

-	Drag the file to be printed from Windows Explorer and drop it onto a printer shortcut. If the printer shortcut refers to your system default printer, the file will be printed at once; if the shortcut is for a different printer, Windows will first ask if it should be made the default printer.


Typing Text

You can type text with PFE in the same way as for any other Windows application.

Normally, what you type appears on the screen, displacing other characters to the right if you're not at the end of a line. This is termed Insert mode.

If you prefer, you can switch to working in Overwrite mode, where a character you type will replace the one under the caret.

The mode is shown as either "INS" or "OVR" in the status bar. You can also tell by the shape of the caret: in insert mode it's a vertical line, and in overwrite mode it's a block.

You can switch between the two modes in several ways:

-	Pressing the Ins key changes from one mode to the other

-	Double clicking the left mouse button in the area of the status bar that shows the mode changes from one to the other

-	You can change between the two modes, and also change other settings for the current window, with the Options Current Modes command

-	You can set the default mode to use for files of specific types with the Options Default Modes command.

Remember that insert and overwrite modes apply to individual windows. You can have, for example, one window that shows a file in insert mode, and another showing the same file in overwrite mode if you wish.

If you have some text selected in the current window when you type, PFE will delete it and replace it with the key you press. However, if you have activated smart tabbing, PFE will not replace selected text when you press the Tab key; instead it will shift the lines containing the selection to the right by one Tab stop.

Automatic Text Wrapping

Setting The Width Of A Tab


Setting The Width Of A Tab

When you press the Tab key when typing in a file, PFE will by default insert a single "tab" character (ASCII code 9), and will display it using a tab stop width of 8 columns.

However, you can affect this behaviour in several ways.

The Options Current Modes and Options Default Modes commands allow you to specify the display width of a tab stop; and also to specify that PFE should insert the appropriate number of space characters into the file rather than a single "tab" character. The first of these commands affects only the file you're currently working on, and the second allows you to define PFE's default behaviour.

You can also activate smart tabbing. If this is active, and you have selected some text when you press the Tab key, PFE will shift the lines containing the selection to the right by one Tab stop rather than insert any characters.


Deleting Text

Pressing the Delete or Del keys will delete the character to the left of the caret, and move the caret left.

If you want delete an entire line or the last part of a line, there are two useful commands that let you do it in a single operation. The Edit Delete Line command deletes the entire line that the caret is in; the Edit Delete To End Of Line command deletes everything from the current position of the caret to the end of the line that contains it.

To delete a large area of text, you can select it with the keyboard or mouse and then press Delete or Del, or use the Edit Cut command.


Selecting Text

Like other Windows applications, PFE allows you to select an area of text and operate on it. The selected area appears highlighted.

You can select text using either a mouse, or with the keyboard. Also, the Edit Goto Line and Edit Find commands allow you to specify that all the text from where the caret starts to where it ends up is selected.

Selecting An Entire File

Selecting A Single Word

Selecting Using The Mouse

Selecting Using The Keyboard

Cancelling A Selection


Selecting An Entire File

To select the whole of the file shown in the current window, use the Edit Select All command. PFE will highlight all the text in the file, and move the caret to after the last character.


Selecting A Single Word

PFE gives you a quick way to select a single word in your text.

-	With a mouse, place the cursor anywhere within the word and double click the left mouse button

-	Alternatively, or if you don't have a mouse, move the caret to anywhere within the word and use the Edit Select Word command


Selecting Using The Mouse

To select some text with the mouse, hold down the left button and drag the cursor. PFE will scroll the window in the appropriate direction when you move outside the window area. All the text that you select will be shown highlighted.

To select a single word, place the mouse pointer anywhere within it and double-click the left mouse button.

You can quickly select a large area by holding down the Shift key as you click the left mouse button. PFE will select all the text from the initial position of the caret to where the mouse cursor is. Since PFE does not move the caret within the file as you scroll with the up and down arrows in the vertical scroll bar, this can be a convenient way to select large areas.

If you have already selected an area, holding the Shift key down while you press the left mouse button extends the selection to the position of the mouse cursor.

Remember that, although you can have an area of selected text in each of the files you have open, only one window from any particular file can have a selection.


Selecting Using The Keyboard

As with other Windows applications, PFE allows you to select text using the keyboard.

Holding down the Shift key while using the cursor keys will move the caret up and down in the current window, selecting all the text that you pass over. Normally the caret moves one character or line at a time; holding the Ctrl key down at the same time as the left or right cursor key will move the caret by one word at a time.

Holding down the Shift key while pressing the PgUp or PgDn keys will scroll the window by one window's worth of lines, selecting all the lines that are passed over. Holding the Ctrl key down at the same time will move you to the start or end of the file respectively.

Holding down the Shift key while pressing the Home and End keys will move the caret to the start or end of the current line respectively, selecting all the text passed over.

To select a complete word, move the caret to anywhere within it and use the Edit Select Word command.


Cancelling A Selection

To cancel a selected area of text and return it to unselected state, you should either click the left mouse button once anywhere in the window concerned; or press the 5 key on the numeric keyboard with Num Lock off.


Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text

PFE uses the standard Windows clipboard for cutting, copying and pasting text. You can move text around in one edit window; move it from one window to another; or transfer text to and from other applications.

You can select the text with the mouse or keyboard, and then operate on it with menu commands. An alternative, very quick way of moving and copying text, is to use PFE's drag and drop facility.

You can work with very large amounts of data when cutting, copying and pasting. If you are using the 16-Bit Edition on an 80286 based system, the maximum amount of data that can be handled is 80 bytes less than 1 megabyte. On an 80386 or higher, the maximum size is 16 megabytes less 64 kilobytes. With the 32-Bit Edition there is effectively no limit.

However, you should normally work with small amounts of data, even if it means moving a large amount of text around in several operations instead of one. Clipboard data is stored by Windows in your system's main memory, and obviously the larger the amount you try to store, the more likely you are to run out of space. Also, because of the way Intel processors operate under Windows 3, PFE handles cutting, copying and pasting of more than 64 kilobytes of data significantly slower than smaller blocks.

Remember too that the clipboard is not emptied after you paste it into a file. This means that, when you exit PFE, you may still have a large amount of data stored in the clipboard taking up main memory space, which could cause you memory starvation problems when running other applications. You can reduce the amount of data stored in the clipboard by copying a single character to it before exiting from PFE; or you can use the Windows Clipboard Viewer application to empty the clipboard at any time.

Cutting Text To The Clipboard

Copying Text To The Clipboard

Pasting Text From The Clipboard

Dragging And Dropping Text


Cutting Text To The Clipboard

To cut some text from the current window and place it on the clipboard, you should first select it, then use the Edit Cut  command.

PFE will delete the selected text from the edit window after making a copy of it in the Windows clipboard. Anything that was previously held in the clipboard will be lost.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.


Copying Text To The Clipboard

To copy some text from the current window and place it on the clipboard, you should first select it, then use the Edit Copy  command.

PFE will duplicate the selected text in the clipboard, and leave the window unchanged.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.

By default, PFE leaves the selected text highlighted after this operation. If you prefer to have the highlighting removed, use the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Pasting Text From The Clipboard

When the Windows clipboard contains some ASCII text (either put there from PFE or some other application) you can paste it into the file you're editing at the position of the caret with the Edit Paste command.

If you have selected any text prior to using this command, PFE will delete it before performing the paste operation.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.


Dragging And Dropping Text

If you have a mouse, a very quick way to move text around within a window is to use PFE's drag-and-drop facility, which lets you simply pick up text from one place and drop it where you want it.

To use drag-and-drop, you should do this:

1	Select the text you want to move or copy to another part of the window

2	Place the mouse cursor within the selected area. The cursor shape changes from an I-beam to an arrow to show that you can use drag and drop.

Press the left mouse button and hold it down. The cursor changes to the drag-and-drop cursor. If you want to copy the selected text rather than move it, you should also press and hold down the Ctrl key

3	Move the cursor to where you want to move or copy the text; the caret shows you the exact place where the text will go. Moving the mouse cursor outside the window will cause it scroll in the appropriate direction

4	When the caret is at the required location, release the left mouse button (if you're copying the text, make sure you hold the Ctrl key down until after you release the button).

If you decide that you didn't really want to carry out the operation once you've started it, release the Ctrl key if you're holding it down, and press the Escape key. The mouse cursor will return to its normal shape, and you can now release the mouse button without changing the file.

Note that the selected text is not copied to the clipboard when you perform a drag-and-drop; anything you have in the clipboard already will be unaffected.

Normally, PFE will move the selected text unless you hold the Ctrl key down when releasing the mouse button. If you prefer, you can change this so that text is copied by default, and moved only if the Ctrl key is down. To do this, use the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Depending on how responsive your system is, and how you like to work with an editor, you may prefer to have the drag and drop facility turned off. You can do this also with the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. If drag and drop is not available, the mouse cursor does not change shape when it is over highlighted text.


Finding Text

To search for an occurrence of some text in a window, place the caret at the point where you want the search to start, and use the Edit Find command. This starts a standard Windows dialog that lets you specify what you want to look for, and other details.

The dialog box remains visible after you've made the search, enabling you to repeat it in the same or in another edit window.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.

The Edit Find Dialog

Finding Special Characters

Repeating A Find Operation


Finding Special Characters

When you're searching  you may want to look for occurrences of characters that you can't type in the edit control of the Find dialog. PFE lets you specify them using a special notation:

\f	represents a Form Feed character

\n	represents the end of a line

\t	represents a TAB character

\\	represents a single '\' character

To specify an arbitrary character code you can use the notation "\xnn", where "nn" is two hexadecimal digits. The null value "\x00" is not permitted.


Repeating A Find Operation

There are two ways of repeating a text search. Because the Find dialog remains visible until you explicitly dismiss it, you can repeat a search - either exactly or with changes - simply by pressing the OK button. You can perform the search in any window.

However, on standard VGA screens especially, the dialog can take a large amount of space, so you may prefer to dismiss it and use the Edit Repeat Last Find command to repeat a search. This command repeats the last search operation you did exactly.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.


Replacing Text

To search for an occurrence of some text in a window, and replace it with some different text, place the caret at the point where you want the search to start, and use the Edit Replace command. This starts a standard Windows dialog that lets you specify what you want to look for, what to replace it with, and other details.

The dialog box remains visible after you've performed the operation, so you can repeat the operation in the same or in another edit window.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.

The Edit Replace Dialog

Replacing Special Characters

Repeating A Replace Operation


Replacing Special Characters

When you're replacing text you may want to look for or insert characters that you can't type in the edit control of the Replace dialog. PFE lets you specify them using a special notation:

\f	represents a Form Feed character

\n	represents the end of a line

\t	represents a TAB character

\\	represents a single '\' character

To specify an arbitrary character code you can use the notation "\xnn", where "nn" is two hexadecimal digits. The null value "\x00" is not permitted.


Repeating A Replace Operation

There are two ways of repeating a text replacement operation. Because the Replace dialog remains visible until you explicitly dismiss it, you can repeat an operation - either exactly or with changes - simply by pressing one of the Find Next, Replace or Replace All buttons. You can perform the operation in any window.

However, on standard VGA screens especially, the dialog can take a large amount of space, so you may prefer to dismiss it and use the Edit Repeat Last Replace command to repeat the process. This command repeats the last replace operation you did exactly.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.


Text Processing

Although PFE is not intended to be used as a word processor, it does support some text processing features that are of use to those editing program source, and a few of general applicability.

Automatic Text Wrapping

Reformatting Text

Indenting And Undenting Text

Changing Case

Inserting Characters by ASCII Code

Handling Braces


Automatic Text Wrapping

When you're typing ordinary text, rather than a program source, it's often convenient to have the program you're using handle the business of fitting the text into the available line width.

The quickest way to activate text wrapping for a window is to double-click the left mouse button in the wrap area of the status bar. This will show the text "No Wrap" when wrapping is not active. The double click action will turn wrapping on, using the currently set wrap column, which by default is column 72.

You can also switch wrapping on and off, and also define the wrap column, for the current window, using the Options Current  Modes command.

You can also cause text wrapping to be activated automatically for all files of a specific type by using the Options Default Modes command.

Whether wrapping is active, and the wrap column used, is set on a per-window basis. You can, if you want, edit the same file in two different windows with different wrap settings.

In any window for which wrapping is active, PFE monitors as you type, and whenever you type a non-space character at a screen position to the right of the defined wrap column, it will automatically break the line you're typing in at a suitable place, moving some text and the insertion point down to the next line.

The points at which PFE will break a line vary with the language type defined for the window with the Options Current  Modes command.

Language type "(none)" or "C"

The line will be broken at the closest white space character or hyphen to the defined wrap column.

Language type "TeX"

The line will be broken at the closest white space character to the defined wrap column

Note that PFE will wrap the line you're typing only when you're typing at the right hand end of it. If you move the caret to somewhere within the line and type, the line won't be wrapped even if it extends past the wrap column. However, you can reformat existing text at any time with the Edit Text Reformat and Edit Text Reformat Paragraph commands.

PFE does not perform any sort of text justification.


Reformatting Text

Although PFE does perform automatic wrapping of text, this operates only when you type at the end of a line and not, as would happen with a word processor, when you insert something into the middle of existing text.

This means that when you alter existing text, the result will probably extend past the wrap margin you've used, or else won't fill up the line completely.

The Edit Text Reformat and Edit Text Reformat Paragraph commands let you correct this, by adjusting the text so that fits into the wrap margin. You can use the commands at any time, even if you haven't set the window concerned to have word wrapping active.

Both commands work in a similar way when reformatting text, and will reformat either the paragraph that contains the caret, or all the lines that you've highlighed. They place as many words as possible into each line, replacing all multiple spaces and tab characters with single spaces, so that no text extends past the wrap margin.

Where the two commands differ is in how they treat paragraphing when reformatting. The Edit Text Reformat command does not treat blank lines as having any significance, and they will all be removed. Thus if you select text that is in multiple paragraphs, reformatting with this command will give you a single paragraph as the result.

The Edit Text Reformat Paragraph command, in contrast, maintains your paragraph structure; however groups of more than one blank line will be compacted to be a single blank line in the result.

Note that neither of these commands provides word-processor style text justification. The wrap margin is treated simply as a point beyond which no text should occur; the internal spacing of the line is not adjusted to bring the last word up to it.


Indenting And Undenting Text

When you're editing program source, you'll very often want to change the indentation of some or all of it. PFE gives you a powerful facility to change the indentation level of either a single line, or of a larger block of text.

To indent a single line, place the caret anywhere within it and use the Edit Text Indent command. PFE will move the entire text of the line to the right by one tab stop, inserting either a single tab character or a number of spaces, as appropriate for the window. Lines that are empty are not affected.

To undent a single line, place the caret within it and use the Edit Text Undent command, which is mapped by default to Shift+TAB. PFE will move the text left by one tab stop: if the line starts with a tab character, this will be deleted; otherwise, PFE removes as many space characters as it can up to the width of a tab stop. A line that does not start with either a tab character or a space will not be altered.

If you want to indent or undent more than one line, the procedure is similar; but now you indicate the lines you want to change by selecting them. Now when you use either of the commands, PFE will alter all the lines that are selected. Unlike most operations that affect selected text, indenting and undenting operates on the whole of any line containing a highlight, and not just on the highlighted text itself.

Smart Tabbing

If you prefer, you can use the "Editing Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to activate smart tabbing.

This feature changes how PFE handles the TAB key and the EditInsertTab command that it is mapped to when you have some text selected. By default, PFE would replace the selected text with a TAB; but if you have smart tabbing turned on, it will instead indent the lines containing the highlighted text by one TAB stop, just as if you'd used the Edit Text Indent command.

Smart tabbing, once activated, applies to all the files that you edit.


Changing Case

PFE lets you quickly change the case of the text that you've typed. First, you should select the text whose case you want to change.

The Edit Text Uppercase Selection command will make all the characters you've selected upper case; the Edit Text Lowercase Selection command makes them all lower case.


Insert Characters by ASCII Code
Inserting Characters by ASCII Code

PFE allows you to insert characters with arbitrary ASCII codes between 1 and 255 that you cannot type on the keyboard. This facility permits you to insert control characters such as ESC and Form Feed, or characters with codes greater than 127.

The Edit Text Insert ASCII Code command starts a dialog that allows you to specify the ASCII code to insert.


Handling Braces

PFE provides several commands that allow you to manipulate brace characters such as brackets and parentheses, which often delimit sections of text or of program sources.

The definition of a brace character varies, depending on what language type you have set in a window's window modes. If you have defined the language type to be "C", braces are defined as the characters that have that syntactic meaning in the language - opening braces are { [  or (, and closing braces are } ] or ).

If you have set the language type to be "none", brace characters are defined as those commonly used in text or many other languages -  opening braces are { [ ( or <, and closing braces are } ] ) or >.

Two commands allow you easily to locate braces that match each other. If the caret is positioned on either an opening or a closing brace character, the Edit Text Match Brace and Edit Text Match Brace Select commands will move the caret to the matching one, having regard for nesting of braces. The latter command will also highlight all the text between and including the brace characters.

The Edit Text Widen Brace Select Command command helps you locate and manipulate brace-delimited sections of text. If the caret is positioned anywhere between two matching braces, the command will move the caret to the opening brace character and select the text between and including them. The next use of the command will widen the selection to include the brace characters that completely enclose this selected area, and so on. The result is that, in C language source, for example, you can select larger and larger syntactic elements with simple repeated keystrokes, and copy, delete or otherwise manipulate them as you choose.

In locating matching brace commands, PFE's actions are again moderated by the defined language type. For a language type of "none", all characters are examined, and there is no syntactic meaning to any text.

For a language type of "C", however, the search is made with regard to C language syntax. Brace characters within comments, delimited strings or pre-processor directives are disregarded, as are those defined as character literals. In most cases, PFE will be able accurately to match a brace character. However, some complex syntax may mislead it, especially if the syntax is invalid or incomplete.


Undoing Edit Actions

PFE includes a powerful and configurable system that will let you correct your editing mistakes easily. The edit changes you make are recorded in memory, and you can reverse them with the Edit Undo command, which can be initiated quickly by clicking on a tool bar button.

When recording the edit changes you make, PFE handles them as a sequence of actions. By default it will record the last 32 actions performed on each open file; but you can change this to any number between 8 and 128 with the "MRU List" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

In most cases, it is obvious what an undoable action is. For example, deleting a line with the Edit Delete Line command is a single action, as is pasting from the clipboard with Edit Paste or inserting a template with Template Insert.

However, typing and deleting single characters is handled somewhat differently. PFE does not regard each keypress as an action: rather, it stores as one action all the keystrokes you make, until you begin doing something else. Undoing the action then reverses the whole collection of keystrokes, rather than just the last one.

For example, simply typing characters accumulates keystrokes in a typing action; deleting with the BackSpace key accumulates keystrokes in a delete backwards action, and deleting forwards with the Delete key accumulates them in a delete forwards action. PFE only stops accumulating keystrokes in an action when you do something different:. For example, PFE would stop accumulating keystrokes in a typing action if you began to delete characters; and it would stop accumulating keystrokes in a delete backwards action if you began typing characters again.

Accumulation of keystrokes will also stop if you use any key that moves the caret; move the caret with the mouse; or perform any command.

Obviously, recording the edit changes you have made to a file consumes memory; and if you have specified that PFE should record a large number of edit actions, and cut and paste large amounts of data, you may use up very large amounts indeed.

PFE provides several techniques to keep memory usage under control:

-	The Edit Clear Undo Actions command lets you discard all the recorded actions for the current file, freeing off the memory used, at any time. Of course, once you have used this command, you can no longer reverse any changes.

-	When you write a file to disk, PFE will by default clear the recorded actions for the current file for you, releasing the memory used. You can suppress this, and retain all recorded actions until you decide to clear them yourself, with the "Saving Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Templates

Templates are pre-built sections of text that you can include into your files, saving you from repeatedly typing the same things.

For example, you might like to document your C procedures by preceding each one with an explanatory section like this:

/*************************************************

   start_editor
   ------------

   This procedure starts the system in edit
   mode

**************************************************/

Rather than type the lines of asterisks every time, you could set up a template containing the text:

/**************************************************

<???>
    -------------

***************************************************/

and insert it automatically in a simple operation. The "<???>" characters are a template mark to show where you have to type in extra items (such as the name of the procedure in this example). PFE lets you move between these  marks with a single keypress, so that editing is very simple and convenient.

Templates are held in template files, which you can regard as a sort of library. You can have as many template files ready for use, or attached as you want, and you can insert templates from any of them at will. Template files are not ordinary text files and can't be edited directly, but the Template menu provides you with options for creating template files, attaching and detaching them, creating, editing and deleting templates.

Each template file can hold a maximum of 64 templates. The total space taken up for data in a template file cannot exceed a total of approximately 62 kilobytes. Each line in a template requires one byte for each character, plus two extra bytes; and one further byte is required for each template.

You can attach template files manually at any time as you need them. However, you'll probably find that you create a set of templates that you use all the time: you can arrange for PFE to attach these automatically when it starts up. You can also have a set of templates that are specific to a particular project, and this also can be attached automatically.

Creating A Template File

Attaching A Template File

Creating A Template

Inserting A Template

Editing A Template

Deleting A Template

Saving A Changed Template File

Detaching A Template File


Creating A Template File

Before you can store a template you must have a template file to place it in. The Template Create File command starts a standard dialog that lets you specify the name of the file you want to create. PFE will create the file you specified and write a small amount of binary control information into it.

You should use the file type .tpl when you create a template file. You should not try to template files directly, as they do not contain normal text.

When you create a template file it is automatically attached and ready to use.


Attaching A Template File

Before you can access any of the templates contained in a template file, you must first attach it. PFE loads the file into memory and constructs an index to the templates it contains, after which you can manipulate it.

You attach a template file with the Template Attach File command. This starts a dialog that lets you select the file you want to attach.

If you wish, you can attach a template file in read only mode. You will be able to insert templates contained in this file into files that you are editing, but you will not be able to add new templates to it or edit existing ones within it.

Having a template file attached uses some memory: PFE uses global memory to hold the data within the template file, and some control blocks. You can recover the memory used by an unwanted template file by detaching it with the Template Detach File command.

Automatically Attaching Template Files


Automatically Attaching Template Files

If you like, you can have PFE attach some template files automatically when it starts up, rather than attaching them manually one by one with the Template Attach File command. You can specify the files in two ways:

-	As it starts, PFE scans the current directory for a file called auto.tpl and attaches it if it is a valid template file

-	You can specify a  template directory with the "Templates" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.
When it starts, PFE will look for a directory with the specified pathname, and will attach all the files it contains with a file type of .tpl


Creating A Template

To create a template, use the Template New command. This opens up an edit window that is exactly the same as any other; the sole difference is that the window caption will show that you're editing a template.

You can edit inside the window exactly as in any other. You have an additional facility, though: you can use the Template Insert Mark command to insert a template mark. This is a character sequence (actually the characters <???>) that are automatically searched for by the Template Find Mark command. You can use template marks to hold the position for things to be filled in once you've inserted a template into your text file.

In order to use the template once you've finished editing it, you must store it in a template file. You can create a template at any time, but to store it you must have a template file attached. Template Store As command starts a dialog that shows you all the template files that you've attached. You should select the file you want to store the template in, then type the template's name. This can be any sequence of up to 16 characters, used to identify this particular template.

PFE will write the template information into its memory copy of the template file, and you can then insert the template into files at will. However, the template will not be saved to disk until you use the Template Save File command.


Inserting A Template

At any time when you're editing, you can insert a template from any attached template file at the position of the caret.

The Template Insert command shows you a dialog that gives you a list of all the attached template files. When you select one of the files you'll see a list of all the templates that it contains; you can then select the particular template that you want to insert.

PFE will read the template data from the template file and insert it into the current window at the position of the caret. Unlike the case when you're inserting another file or pasting from the clipboard, the caret remains at the start of the inserted data. This allows you to use the Template Find Mark command to move automatically to any template marks that you've put in the template to show where extra text needs to be inserted.


Editing A Template

In order to change a template that you've stored in a template file you need first to attach the file, then use the Template Edit command. Since template files do not contain plain text, you shouldn't attempt the edit them directly.

The command shows you a dialog that lists all the attached template files. Selecting one of the files shows you a list of all the templates it contains, and then you can select the template you want to edit.

When you've selected a template, PFE will place it in an edit window for you. The window is exactly the same as one for editing a normal text file, but the caption will show you that it's actually a template you're editing. You can edit the template in any way you like.

Once you've finished your edit, you can update the template file with the Template Store command. This will delete the old version of the template from the template file and replace it with the new one. If you want to save the contents of the edit window as a template with a different name, or into a different template file, use the Template Store As command.

A template file is not updated on disk when you finish editing a template. To preserve your changes you need to explicitly save it using the Template Save File command.

Because a template is not regarded as an ordinary file, you can't use the File Save or File Save As commands. If you need to save the template into an ordinary file, use the Edit Copy command to copy the data to the clipboard and paste it into a new window.

When you're editing a template, you can use the Template Insert Mark command to insert a template mark. This is a character sequence (actually the characters <???>) that are automatically searched for by the Template Find Mark command. You can use template marks to hold the position for things to be filled in once you've inserted a template into your text file.


Deleting A Template

To delete an unwanted template from a template file, you must first attach it, then use the Template Delete command.

This starts a dialog that allows you to specify one or more templates in a template file and delete them. The template file is not updated on disk when you delete a template: to preserve your changes you need to explicitly save the file using the Template Save File command.


Saving A Changed Template File

When you edit a template, create a new one, or delete one, PFE makes the changes only to the copy of the template data that it keeps in memory. The template file on disk is not altered in any way.

To make your changes permanent, you need to use the Template Save File command This starts a dialog that shows you the names of all the template files that have been altered, allowing you to select those you want to write back to your disk.


Detaching A Template File

If you don't want to use the templates contained in a template file any more, you can regain some memory by removing the in-memory copy of the file with the Template Detach File command.

The command will start a dialog that lets you choose the template files to detach. Once you've detached a file, you won't be able to use the templates it contains until you attach it again.

PFE will not let you detach a template file if you're currently editing any of the templates it contains.


File And Window Modes

PFE allows you to change many aspects of how it operates in any particular window by setting various modes. Most mode values are simply yes-or-no settings, such as "are trailing spaces to be removed?" and "is the file read-only?". Others take specific settings, such as the width of a tab stop or a colour selection.

Some modes, referred to as window modes, apply only to one specific window. If you're editing the same file in several windows at the same time, you can apply different window modes to each window.

File modes, by contrast, apply to a file in all the windows that you are using to edit it. Whichever window is the current one when you change a file mode, the value will be applied to all the others.

You can set mode values in two distinct ways.

Setting current mode values

At any time, you can use the Options Current Modes command to set the modes that should apply to the current window, and the file that you are editing within it. You can use this method to set some specific values to help you in a particular editing task. These mode values are not stored.

Setting default mode values

Whenever PFE creates a window, for instance after you've used a File Open command to open an existing file, it will set the initial mode values to a default set. The Options Default Modes command lets you tailor these initial values to suit your preferences.

In fact, you can set many different sets of default mode values, which are used in the appropriate circumstances. You can set defaults to be used:

-	When PFE creates a window to edit a template

-	When PFE creates a window to show the output of a DOS command captured by the Execute DOS Command with Capture command

-	When PFE creates an empty edit window with the File New command

-	When you open an existing file whose file name (less the directory path) matches an entry in one of your mode groups. . You can define up to 32 sets of such default values, and associate each with up to 16 wildcarded filename patterns.

-	When you open an existing file whose name is not matched in any of the mode groups referred to above

Initially, PFE uses the same set of default values for all these cases, but you can configure each case as you wish independently of the others


Setting Modes For A Window Or File

If you want to change the Window Modes for the current window, or the File Modes for the file that's being shown in it, use the Options Current Modes command, which starts a dialog that lets you alter all the settings.

The dialog box reminds you of the name of the current file at the top. You should set the modes that you want by checking or unchecking the boxes, then press OK to action them.


Mode Groups
A mode group is a collection of file name patterns (such as "*.c", "readme.*" and "*.lsp") and a set of corresponding file and window modes. The file patterns can contain the normal DOS wildcard characters "*" and "?"

When PFE opens a file, it searches the defined mode groups to see if it can match the file name in one; if it does, it applies the corresponding mode values. Note that the directory path parts of filenames are ignored in this search.

You can edit the file patterns that make up your mode groups, and the modes that correspond, with the Options Default Modes command


Moving To Specific Lines

You have several ways of moving to a specific line in a file. You can use the normal movement keys and watch the file position in the status bar at the bottom of the main window, or you can turn on file line numbers and use those to guide you.

Alternatively, you can use the Edit Goto Line menu command. This starts a dialog that lets you enter the desired position directly; you can move to a specific line number, or to a specific character within a specific line.


Window Manipulation

PFE uses the standard Windows Multiple Document Interface to allow you to edit as many files as you wish simultaneously. You can use all the normal MDI techniques to manipulate the windows, and there are some further facilities specific to PFE.

Selecting A Window

Moving And Sizing A Window

Duplicating A Window

Closing A window

Widening A Window

Tiling Windows


Selecting A Window

You have several ways of moving from one edit window to another.

The Window Next command moves you between windows that are not currently icons - any iconic windows are not restored by this.

With a mouse, you can click on any window to activate it. To prevent you accidentally moving the caret when you activate a window with the mouse cursor within the edit area, PFE will not change the caret position until you click a second time.

The Window menu contains one item for each of the first 9 edit windows; clicking the item that identifies the window will activate it (if the window is an icon, it will be restored). If you have more than 9 windows open, you'll see a More Windows item, which will run a dialog that will list all the existing windows.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also chose the window you want to activate from the Control Station.


Closing A Window

To close a window, you can use select the Close item from its system menu, double-click in the system menu box, or use the Window Close command.

If the window is the only one currently showing a file, PFE will act as if you'd used the File Close command and close the file also; if you have made any changes to the file you'll be prompted to see if you want to save them, discard them, or cancel the operation.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also issue this command from the Control Station.


Moving And Sizing A Window

You can iconize any edit window by clicking on its minimize box, or via its system menu. You can also iconize all the edit windows that exist in one operation with the Window Iconize All command, and you can restore all iconic windows to their previous state with the Window Restore All command

You can maximize a window so that it fills the full extent of the main window by clicking its maximize box, or via its system menu. You can also double-click anywhere on the window's caption bar to do this.

You can move a window around or resize it with the mouse, or via the window's system menu.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also maximise, iconise and restore windows using the Control Station


Duplicating A Window

PFE allows you to have as many windows as you want showing the same file - for example, you might find it convenient to have one window showing the start of a file, and another showing the end of it. You can also apply different window modes to the windows for various effects.

The Window Duplicate command will make an exact duplicate of the current window. PFE will create a second window that is the same size as the original, with all the same window modes, showing the same text.

You can edit the file concerned in any of the windows that are showing it, but there will be a small performance penalty, as PFE needs to synchronise a change made in one window with all the others.

Although you can select text freely when you have multiple windows on a file, only one of the windows can have an active selection at any time. If you select some text and then activate another window on the same file, the selection will be cleared.


Widening A Window

Often you may want to make a window as wide as possible, so that you can see the maximum possible amount of text in each file line. You can achieve this in the normal way that Windows allows you to resize a window; but an easier way is to use the Window Widen command.

PFE will automatically make the current window as wide as possible, moving it to the far left of the main window. The window's depth and vertical position are not affected.


Tiling Windows

PFE allows you automatically to position the windows you're working with to make best use of the available screen area. You can tile windows either vertically or horizontally.

Horizontal Tiling

The Window Tile Horizontal command arranges your windows in columns, so that you can see as many lines in each as possible.

Vertical Tiling

The Window Tile Vertical command arranges your windows one above the other on the screen, so that you can see as much of each line in as many windows as possible. Depending on the size of your display, only 2 or 3 windows can be arranged in this way without becoming too small to use; excess windows are tiled in a horizontal pattern in the lower part of the screen.

Windows holding the output from commands run by the Execute DOS Command To Window command are preferentially arranged at the top of the screen.

In each of the tiling cases, PFE will arrange any window icons neatly towards the bottom of the screen, and will always keep the bottom row of icons visible. When tiling vertically this can reduce the usable size of the screen by too much, especially if you have more than three non-iconic windows.

You can tell PFE to use the full depth of the screen for vertical tiling with the "Window Control" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Screen Fonts

By default, PFE will use the fixed pitch System font to display text in edit windows. However, it will allow you to use any fixed pitch font that exists on your system, as well as the standard ANSI and OEM fonts.

To select the screen font that you want PFE to use in you edit windows, use the "Screen Font" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Selecting a screen font has no effect on any fonts you may have selected for printers.


The Status Bar

PFE normally shows you a status bar at the bottom of its window. This gives you several items of useful information, and also gives you a quick way of changing some settings and executing a few commands.

The status bar shows you:

-	The line number and column number where the caret is. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area executes an Edit Goto Line command.

-	The total number of lines in the file.

-	Whether the file has changed : you will see a # if it has.

-	Whether the file is read only : the characters RO will show if it is, and WR will show if you can alter it. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will change between the two settings.

-	The command sequence prefix key - that is, whether you've typed an active prefix key and PFE is waiting for you to supply the second key of the sequence.

-	Whether your keystrokes and menu selections are being recorded in a keyboard macro. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will turn recording on and off.

-	Whether PFE will automatically wrap lines that you type, and the column number past which this wrapping will take place. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will turn wrapping on and off.

- 	Whether the file will be saved in DOS format or Unix format. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will change between the two formats. You cannot change the save format of a file that is marked as read only.

-	Whether typing is to be inserted into what's there already, or will overwrite it : you see INS or OVR respectively. Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will change between the two settings, as will pressing the Ins key.

-	The state of the Num Lock and Shift Lock keys

You can turn off the status bar and make a little more room for showing the files you're editing, or turn it on again, with the "Status Bar" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. On slower machines you will probably see a noticeable performance increase when you have the status bar turned off.


 The Tool Bar

Besides controlling PFE from the keyboard, or by using the menu, you can also use the tool bar to make access to the most common operations simple.

The tool bar is a collection of coloured push buttons. By default it appears at the top of the screen below the menu, but you can place it at any of the main window's edges, or have it floating as a separate window.

You can invoke the function associated with a tool bar button by clicking the left mouse button when the mouse pointer is within it. Some buttons have more than one function, and you invoke these by holding either the Shift key, the Ctrl key, or both, down as you release the mouse button.

When you click the left mouse button on a toolbar button, PFE will show some text explaining its use in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. If you decide you don't want to perform the function, move the mouse pointer out of the tool bar area before releasing the mouse button.

The topic Description of the Tool Bar Buttons below describes each of the buttons fully. Note that in this help file, the buttons are drawn as they appear by default on screens with 1024 x 768 resolution. Some buttons may appear slightly differently on other screens.

You can also obtain help on the function of any button in the tool bar by using the Edit Screen/Menu Help command, positioning the question-and-arrow cursor on the button, and clicking the left mouse button once.

Not all of the tool bar buttons will be usable at all times: for example, the Print button can't work if you don't actually have a file open. The buttons that you can use will display icons in colour; those that aren't currently available will show grey shadow images.

Description of the Tool Bar Buttons

Moving the Tool Bar

Setting The Tool Bar Size


Setting The Tool Bar Size

Normally, PFE selects the bitmaps it draws for the tool bar buttons to match the resolution of your screen, so that the tool bar appears approximately the same physical size on all screens. However, if you have a large screen with a high resolution, you may want to force PFE to use a smaller toolbar for a better appearance.

You can override the automatic sizing of the tool bar with the "Tool Bar" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. The allows you to force PFE to use a small, medium or large set of tool bar buttons.


Moving The Tool Bar

By default, the tool bar appears as a row of button at the top of the screen below the menu. You can choose to place it at any of the main window's edges, or you can have it appear as a small floating window that you can place anywhere at all in the edit window. You can also, of course, choose to turn it off completely.

One way of moving the tool bar is to use "Tool Bar" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. This allows you to hide the tool bar or show it, or specify where you want it to be placed.

If you have a mouse, you can also drag the tool bar to where you want it. You need to do this to start:

-	If the tool bar is at one of the window edges, place the mouse pointer within it but not over one of the buttons. The cursor will change to the shape of a hand. Press the left mouse button and hold it down. The cursor shape now changes to a four-pointed arrow.

-	If the tool bar is a floating window, put the mouse pointer over the caption bar at the top, press the left button and hold it down.

Now drag the tool bar to where you want it to be placed and release the left mouse button. If the mouse pointer is close to one of the main window's edges, the tool bar will be placed on that edge; if the mouse pointer is nearer the middle of the main window, the tool bar will turn into a floating window.

PFE will remember where you've placed the tool bar, and will put it there the next time you start the program.


Key Mapping

PFE allows you to change the details of what keys you press to perform most of its operations. For instance, you could set the Ctrl+A key so that pressing it executed the Template Attach File command if you found that convenient.

The operations that PFE performs are called functions, and these have fairly descriptive names such as FileOpen and EditTransposeCharacters. Most of the functions are similar in name to the commands used to control PFE over a DDE link, and to those on the menus.

The relationship between a key on the keyboard and the function that is performed by pressing it is known as a key mapping. You can have as many keys as you want mapped to a function.

You can store your personalised key mappings so that they are automatically applied every time you start PFE. You can also save them in key mapping files, so that different people using your system could load their own mappings; or so that you could have different mappings for different purposes

What Keys Can Be Mapped

Changing The Key Mappings

Loading Different Key Mappings

The Default Key Mappings

Dictionary Of Functions


What Keys Can Be Mapped

PFE is controlled from the keyboard using two different types of key sequences. You can map almost all the available key combinations, so you should be able to find ones that suit your way of working.

Firstly, PFE uses single-character key presses such as Ctrl+A, Shift+BackSpace, Alt+X and F7, in a similar way to a standard Windows application. If you wished, you could set up PFE to operate entirely with such characters; this is how it will work by default.

The second mode uses two-characters sequences, where you first press a prefix key, and then press a second key. This form is similar in approach to the EMACS editor or the WordStar word processor. By default prefix keys are not used, but you can activate any or all of Esc key and Ctrl+A to Ctrl+Z as prefixes. A prefix key can be followed by any valid single-character key, so the number of mappable key combinations you have available is vast.

PFE does not allow you to remap some of the keys that have standard functions within Windows. Thus, you can't map Alt+Esc or Alt+Tab, for example, as these are the standard way of moving between task windows.

If you map keys such as Alt+F or Alt+W, they will no longer function as menu hot keys to drop down the appropriate menus. However, you can access the menus by pressing and releasing the Alt key alone, and using the cursor keys to navigate to the required menu.


Changing Key Mappings

To change the mappings of keys to functions to be as you want, use the Options Key Mapping menu command. This starts a dialog from which you can choose your requirements.

Defining and Changing Key Mappings

Changing The Active Prefix Keys

Saving A Key Mapping

Loading A Key Mapping


Defining and Changing Key Mappings

To map a key that is currently unmapped to a function, select the Options Key Mapping command, which starts the key mapping dialog.


Saving A Key Mapping

While you are running the key mapping dialog, you can choose to save your new mapping at any time.

If you used the "/k" command line option to load a specific key map file on start-up, you will need always to use Save As button and name the file you want to save the changes to explicitly.

If you didn't use the "/k" option, you'll still be able to use the Save As button to write your changes to a specific file. However, you'll also be able to use the Save button to save the changes to the pfe.key file in your Windows directory, which PFE will by default load when it starts up.


Loading A Key Mapping

PFE allows you to save as many different sets of key mappings as you wish, so that different people using your system can each have their own favourite settings; or you can have different sets of your own for different purposes.

Key mappings are stored in files with type ".key". When it starts up, PFE will automatically try to load the key mappings from pfe.key (16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.key (32-Bit Edition) in your Windows directory unless you suppress this on the command line as described below. You can change the pathname of the default key mapping file with the "Key Mapping" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

FROM THE COMMAND LINE

To load a set of key mappings other than the default when PFE starts, you can use the "/k" command line option to name any key map file. For example, starting PFE with a command line

pfe /k c:\keymaps\uemap.key

would load the key mappings in the file c:\keymaps\uemap.key. If you have a standard key map file in your Windows directory, but want to use the built-in key mappings described in this help file instead, use the "/k" option and give the filename as the single character "-" (minus).

Note that when you use the "/k" option, PFE will not save changed mappings to the file you specify, or to the standard key map file, by default. When saving you will need always to give an explicit file name.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, and your keymap file has a name that contains spaces, make sure that you enclose it in quotes on the command line like this:

pfe32 /k "c:\my pfe keymaps\uemacs keys.key"

FROM THE KEY MAPPING DIALOG

To load a set of key mappings from another file when PFE is running, select the Options Key Mapping command, which starts the key mapping dialog. Clicking the Load button will cause PFE to ask you the name of the file of mappings that you want to load.


Changing The Active Prefix Keys

By default, no prefix keys will be active when you start PFE. This means that all the control keys are available to be mapped to functions, and you will not be able to use any two-character combinations to perform actions.

To activate or de-activate prefix keys, select the Options Key Mapping command, which starts the key mapping dialog, and click the Configure button to the right of the drop-down list of prefix keys.

This starts a sub-dialog that lets you activate or deactivate keys as prefixes. You can use any or all of Esc or Ctrl+A to Ctrl+Z as prefixes.


Using A Microsoft IntelliMouse
Using A Microsoft IntelliMouse (32-Bit Edition Only)

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition of PFE under Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98, you'll be able to use the central wheel of a Microsoft IntelliMouse to scroll up and down files very easily.

By default, rotating the central wheel by one click will scroll the current window up or down by the amount that you've configured with the IntelliPoint control panel or the mouse control panel; if you have not set any values, a wheel click will scroll the window by three lines.

Often, the default values will be adequate, and the wheel will behave in PFE in exactly the same way as in other applications. However, it may be - especially if you're editing large files - that you need the scroll amount to be larger, or you want to scroll a page at a time. Rather than change how the wheel behaves in all your applications, you can use the IntelliMouse panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to set values that apply only within PFE.

When you click the wheel to scroll the current window, the caret position within the file (the location where you're working) does not change - the action is exactly the same as if you click in the vertical scroll bar, and if you begin to type, you'll find that PFE automatically returns the window to its original position.

You can click the mouse in the window after you've scrolled to move the caret; or you can use the Edit Show Caret command to reposition the data so that the caret is visible at its original location.

If you have version 2.2 or later of the IntelliMouse driver youll also be able to pan the windows by clicking on the mouse wheel, then moving the mouse slightly up or down.


The Microsoft IntelliMouse is a mouse that is fitted with a small wheel between the left and right buttons; the wheel can rotate forwards and backwards, and can also be clicked.

The IntelliMouse comes with special IntelliPoint software to control it; you will need both to fit the mouse to your computer and install the software to use the wheel. Note that you will only be able to use the IntelliMouse if you're using Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98.

Applications all act in the same way when the central wheel is used. Rotating the central wheel causes the data viewed to be scrolled up or down; and clicking the central wheel and dragging the mouse causes automatic hands-off scrolling.

Automatic scrolling is available if you have version 2.2 or later of the Microsoft IntelliMouse drivers installed on your system


Ending a PFE Session

You can end your PFE session by selecting the Close item in the system menu, by double clicking in the system menu box, or by using the File Exit command.

Before closing, PFE will check whether you have made any edit changes that have not yet been saved to disk. If you have, it will prompt you for each unsaved file in turn, asking you if you want to save the changes or to discard them, You also have the option of cancelling the process and remaining in PFE.


Exiting Windows

When you're developing programs that may not behave well and cause damage to the system, you'll often find it necessary to exit Windows and restart it, and maybe even to reboot your machine. PFE provides you an option on its system menu to close Windows in a variety of ways very quickly and simply.

The facilities provided by this option vary, depending on whether you're using the 16-Bit or 32-Bit Edition.

Exiting Windows 3.1x

Exiting Windows NT

Exiting Windows 95 and Windows 98


Exiting Windows 3.1x

To exit from your Windows 3 system, click on the system menu box at the top left corner of the main window and select the Exit Windows item. This starts a dialog that lets you perform on of the following actions:

-	Exit from Windows 3 and return to your DOS prompt

-	Exit from Windows 3 and then restart it automatically

-	Exit from Windows 3 and then perform a warm reboot of your system

-	Exit from Windows 3, run a single DOS command automatically, then restart Windows automatically

This option is only available if you're running the 16-Bit Edition.


Exiting Windows NT

To exit from your Windows NT system, click on the system menu box at the top left corner of the main window and select the Exit Windows item. This starts a dialog that lets you perform on of the following actions:

-	Shutown all the applications that you have started and log off from the system

-	Shutdown all applications in the system, and close down Windows NT. You will be notified when it is safe to power your computer off

-	Shutdown all applications in the system, close down Windows NT, and automatically reboot it

This option is only available if you're running the 32-Bit Edition. You'll need to be logged in as a suitably-privileged user in order to shutdown the system.


Exiting Windows 95
Exiting Windows 95 and Windows 98

To exit from your Windows 95 or Windows 98 system, click on the system menu box at the top left corner of the main window and select the Exit Windows item. This starts a dialog that lets you perform on of the following actions:

-	Shutown all the applications that you have started and log off from the system

-	Shutdown all applications in the system, and close down Windows. You will be notified when it is safe to power your computer off

-	Shutdown all applications in the system, close down Windows and automatically reboot it

This option is only available if you're running the 32-Bit Edition


Edit Context Menu

You can obtain the edit context menu by clicking the right mouse button when the mouse pointer is over the current edit window.

The menu gives you some of the common edit operations that you will want to carry out; note that depending on what you are doing at the time, not all of the options will be available:

Undo	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Undo command and allows you to undo the last edit action

Cut 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Cut command and deletes the current selection, copying it to the clipboard

Copy 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Copy command and copies the current selection onto the clipboard

Paste 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Paste command and pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current window

Find 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Find command and starts a dialog to allow you to locate text in the current window

Replace 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Replace command and starts a dialog to allow you to change text in the current window

Insert File 	This menu item has the same effect as the File Insert command and allows you to insert an existing file into the current window

Open Selection	This menu item opens for editing the file whose name is highlighted as the selection in the current window

Find Template Mark 	This menu item has the same effect as the Template Find Mark command and allows you to locate the next template mark in the current window

Indent Text 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Text Indent command and moves text right by one tab stop

Undent Text 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Text Undent command and moves text left by one tab stop

Reformat 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Text_Reformat command and reformats text, not respecting paragraph boundaries

Reformat Paragraph 	This menu item has the same effect as the Edit Text Reformat Paragraph command and reformats text, respecting paragraph boundaries

Change To File's Directory 	This menu item changes PFE's current working directory so that it is the same as the directory containing the current file.

Context Help From 	Clicking on this menu item will show you a sub-menu, consisting of the user help files that you have configured with the "User Help Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. Selecting one of the help files will open the help file and search for any help on the selected text in the current window.


Workspace Context Menu

You can obtain the workspace context menu by clicking the right mouse button when the mouse pointer is over the main PFE window.

The menu gives you some of the common file operations that you will want to carry out:

Edit Existing File	This menu item has the same effect as the File Open command, and allows you to edit an existing file

View Existing File 	This menu item has the same effect as the File View command, and allows you to open an existing file in read-only mode

Create New File Window 	This menu item has the same effect as the File New command, and creates an empty edit window

Change Directory 	This menu item has the same effect as the File Change Directory command, and lets you change PFE's working directory

Properties 	This menu item has the same effect as the Options Preferences command, and lets you customise PFE to suit your requirements.


About Keyboard Macros

PFE provides a system of recording the keys that you press and the menu and tool bar commands you use in keyboard macros that can be replayed at will. This lets you automate repetitive but essentially non-varying editing tasks.

THE TYPES OF KEYBOARD MACROS

Keyboard macros appear in two situations:

The Active Keyboard Recording:

The single active keyboard recording is a keyboard macro that you create by directly recording your actions as you carry them out. The Macro Start Recording command activates the recorder, and the Macro Stop Recording command turns it off.

Once recorded, the active keyboard recording can be replayed as often as you wish with the Macro Play Recording command.

You can also save the active keyboard recording to a disk file with the Macro Save Recording command; PFE will automatically reload the macro when it starts another session so that you will have it immediately available.

If you want to alter the active keyboard recording, you can either record new actions from the start; or you can build on what you've recorded already by editing the recording with the Macro Edit Recording command.

Library Macros:

The active keyboard recording can be extremely useful for ad hoc editing tasks; but as there is only one recording you can't easily build up a collection of useful macros.

To do this, you need to use macro libraries. These are special files that you create, which can contain as many macros as you want. Within the library, you identify the individual macros with meaningful names of up to 31 characters.

Creating and managing macro libraries is performed by the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command. You'll be able to set up macros, give them meaningful names, edit them and test them whenever you want.

Once you've set up a macro within a macro library, PFE provides a highly flexible mechanism for actually using it. Using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command, you first need to bind the macro to one of the macro execution commands MacroPlayMacro1 to MacroPlayMacro20. This creates a permament association between the macro and the command.

PFE provides a default mapping of keystrokes to these macro execution commands.

Command	Keystroke	Command	Keystroke
MacroPlayMacro1	Ctrl+1	MacroPlayMacro11	Ctrl+Shift+1
MacroPlayMacro2	Ctrl+2	MacroPlayMacro12	Ctrl+Shift+2
MacroPlayMacro3	Ctrl+3	MacroPlayMacro13	Ctrl+Shift+3
MacroPlayMacro4	Ctrl+4	MacroPlayMacro14	Ctrl+Shift+4
MacroPlayMacro5	Ctrl+5	MacroPlayMacro15	Ctrl+Shift+5
MacroPlayMacro6	Ctrl+6	MacroPlayMacro16	Ctrl+Shift+6
MacroPlayMacro7	Ctrl+7	MacroPlayMacro17	Ctrl+Shift+7
MacroPlayMacro8	Ctrl+8	MacroPlayMacro18	Ctrl+Shift+8
MacroPlayMacro9	Ctrl+9	MacroPlayMacro19	Ctrl+Shift+9
MacroPlayMacro10	Ctrl+0	MacroPlayMacro20	Ctrl+Shift+0

So that, if you bind your macro to the MacroPlayMacro7 command, you can replay it by typing Ctrl+7. You can use the Options Key Mapping command to change the key mappings if you wish.

Once you have bound a macro to a command, PFE will remember the details permanently, and will make the macro available automatically in future sessions.

THE MACRO LANGUAGE

Within a keyboard macro you can use most of the PFE editor commands  to perform editing operations, and you can include simple text to be replayed as if you were typing at the keyboard. There are also some specialised features that let you specify that commands are to be replayed more than once, so that you don't need to edit un-necessary repititions.

The best way to see what a keyboard macro looks like is to use the Macro Start Recording command to make a recording, then use the Macro Edit Recording command to examine it in the macro editor.

However, there are some extra features of the macro language that can't be recorded directly from the keyboard. These all involve macro language commands, and allow you to perform some simple looping, flow control and error handling operations.

The Active Keyboard Recording

The Keyboard Macro Language And The Macro Editor

Keyboard Macro Libraries

The Keyboard Macro Librarian

Examples Of Keyboard Macros


The Active Keyboard Recording

The active keyboard recording is the keyboard macro that you can build by recording actions as you carry them out; you can record key strokes, menu selections and toolbar actions.

This macro is designed for easy and rapid use, so that you can record the steps of a repetitive process directly from the keyboard as you perform it for the first time. Commonly, you'll use the macro for its purpose, then go on to replace it with another for the next task, and so on; however you can preserve the macro on disk, and you can have PFE automatically reload the last macro saved when a session starts.

As with library macros, you can edit the active keyboard recording and use the full range of macro commands within it.

Making the recording

The Macro Start Recording command will start the recorder, and recording will continue until you use the Macro Stop Recording command.

You can also start and stop recording from the tool bar.

Take care that you do not already have an active keyboard recording that you need to preserve; as soon as you start the recorder, any previous active keyboard recording will be deleted. You can safeguard against this possibility with the Macro Lock Recording command.

Replaying the recording

Once you've recorded a keyboard macro, you can replay it with the Macro Play Recording command. PFE will re-issue all the keystrokes, menu selections and toolbar actions that have been recorded, just as if you were performing them yourself.

It's up to you to ensure that it's sensible to replay a keyboard macro. For example, if you don't have a file open, it's not possible for PFE to insert any characters. So that you don't accidentally ask PFE to perform some impossible operation, replay of the keyboard macro will be automatically halted if any command or keystroke fails. This can be very useful if you're performing searches: macro replay will stop if the target string is not found.

Saving and reloading the recording

The Macro Save Recording command allows you to save the active keyboard recording to disk at any time. The macro is saved to a file called pfe.kbm (for the 16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.kbm (for the 32-Bit Edition) in the startup files directory. This file will automatically be reloaded for the next PFE session.

You can also use the Macro Save Recording As command to save the active keyboard recording. This command starts a dialog which lets you choose the name of the file to save into, so that you can build up a collection of different recordings.

The Macro Load Recording command lets you load the active keyboard recording from a disk file at any time in your session.

Editing the recording

When you have an active keyboard recording made, you can edit it at any time with the Macro Edit Recording command. This starts the keyboard macro editor, with which you can make any changes you need.


The Keyboard Macro Language And The Macro Editor

Keyboard macros are stored internally and used by PFE in a special binary format that reduces storage space and allows efficient execution. However, when you manipulate your macros with the macro editor, you specify the actions in a simple text form language.

THE FORMAT OF A MACRO

A keyboard macro comprises a number of commands, which are executed one after the other in order unless you specify otherwise.

PFE stores keyboard macros in a special binary format; but when you want to create or modify one you use the keyboard macro editor, which displays a macro contents in text form, with one command per line. When you save the macro, PFE will compile it into the internal binary format.

The general format of a command line is this:

repeatcount commandname data

Where repeatcount specifies the number of times that the command should be executed; commandname is the name of the actual command; and data is any extra data that the command may require.

There are two types of commands that you can use. PFE Editor Commands are those like CaretUpand FileNew that you use in normal editing; Macro Language Commands are those like *Loop that are specific to keyboard macros.

As examples of the format of a macro command line, you might see lines like

5 CaretUp

which will move the caret up 5 lines; or

FileNew

which executes a File New command; or

*Loop 5

which introduces an execution loop within the macro that will run 5 times.

Macros can also contain text commands, which represent text that will be replayed as if you are typing the command at the keyboard. A typical text command line might look like this

"this is macro text"

which on replay will type the characters within quotes. If the text you want to insert contains repetition, you can make the macro smaller and faster by using a repeat count, like this:

10 "type this ten times "

Within the text string you should represent a quote character as the two characters \", and a TAB character as "\t".

You can't include a newline within macro text; instead you need to use the EditNewLine PFE editor command. Thus, to replay typing that inserted two lines, the macro should contain something like this:

"first text line"

EditNewLine

"second text line"

Macros can also contain labels, which are used in macro language commands like *goto. Labels must appear on lines by themselves, and consist of a colon (":") followed by up to 16 characters. Valid labels include

:label32

and

:error_exit

PFE EDITOR COMMANDS

Most of the commands that you'll use within a keyboard macro will be PFE Editor Commands. These are the commands such as FileOpen, CaretHome and EditPaste that you use all the time from key sequences or menu actions as you work.

The full list of commands is in the Dictionary Of Functions, and you'll be able to use most of them in your macros. Some commands, though, are not allowed: for instance, you can't start to record an active keyboard recording with the Macro Start Recording command if you're currently playing the active keyboard recording back.

Within a macro, PFE Editor Commands can all be written with a repeat count in front of them to execute them multiple times; however none can be followed by any data.

MACRO LANGUAGE COMMANDS

Besides the PFE editor commands, a keyboard macro can contain macro language commands. These commands, which you can't record from the keyboard but must use from the editor, give you simple looping, flow control and error handling capabilities.

As with PFE editor commands, you can supply one macro language command on any macro line. The commands, which all begin with a "*" character, are these:

*EndLoop	Marks the end of a loop begun with *Loop
*Exit	Terminates the execution of the current macro, returning control to the macro that called it, or to the keyboard
*GoTo label	Transfers control to the given label within the same macro
*Loop count	Begins a loop, within which all the commands up to the next *EndLoop command will be repeated. If you do not specify a count value, the loop will run forever, and only an error or pressing Escape on the keyboard will stop it. You can nest loops to a depth of 5.
*OnError label	Transfers control to the given label within the same macro when an error occurs If you don't specify label, PFE sets the error action to be the default one of terminating execution of the macro.
*OnEscape label	Transfers control to the given label when Escape is pressed on the keyboard.  If you don't specify label, PFE sets the error action to be the default one of terminating execution of the macro.
*ReportingOff	Disables displaying a message box when an error occurs in macro playback
*ReportingOn	Enables displaying a message box when an error occurs in macro playback. This is the default state
*Stop	Terminates all macro execution, returning control to the keyboard. You can use this command if you want to abandon macro execution completely, whether or not the macro has been started from the keyboard or from another macro.

You can't include a repeat count in front of any macro language command.

THE EDITING PROCESS

Editing a macro is a very simple operation.

-	To edit the active keyboard recording, use the Macro Edit Recording command

-	To edit a macro within a macro library, start the macro librarian dialog with the Macro Librarian command, select the macro name and choose the Edit macro item from the drop down menu that appears when you click the Macro button.

In each case, the macro editing process is then the same. PFE will convert the macro from its internal binary form into plain text and show it to you within an edit window. You can then edit this in exactly the same was as edit any other file.

You can type the commands yourself, of course; but as there are a large number of PFE Editor Commands you might prefer to use the Macro Edit Tool Box to assist. This is started by the Macro Show Edit Tool Box command, and allows you to pick and paste commands from a complete list.

Once you've completed your edits, you should use the normal File Save command from the menu or the tool bar to save it. PFE will then compile the edited macro into the internal binary format, and if you have not made any errors, the new macro will be ready to use.

However, if you've made some mistake: perhaps mistyping a command name, or specifying a missing label in a *GoTo command, the compilation will fail. PFE will report the error and tell you where in the macro it occurred so that you can correct it.


Keyboard Macro Libraries

A keyboard macro library is a disk file with file name extension ".mlb" that contains a collection of keyboard macros, which you can run by pressing a defined key sequence.

Macro library files contain data in binary format and can't be edited directly. The Macro Librarian dialog started by the Macro Librarian command allows you to create libraries and manipulate the macros they contain.

In order to use a keyboard macro library, you need first to attach it, which loads information into memory and initialises it. Once this is done you will be able to access the macros it contains and create new ones. PFE maintains the macro library in memory as you use it; after you've made changes, you need explicitly to save them back into the file on disk to make them permanent.

PFE allows you to specify that up to 20 macros within one or more keyboard macro libraries should be executed when you press the key sequences of your choice. Normally the key sequences Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, … , Ctrl+0 and Ctrl+Shift+1, Ctrl+Shift+2, … , Ctrl+Shift+0 are used, but you can change these to whatever you prefer.

If you do specify that macros from within libraries is to be executed when you press a key sequence, PFE will automatically attach those libraries and prepare them whenever you start a session, so that the macros will be available immediately without your needing to take any action.


The Macro Librarian
The Keyboard Macro Librarian

The Keyboard Macro Librarian is responsible for creating and managing the macro libraries that you use. It appears as a single dialog, which allows you to perform a number of library and macro operations.

To enter the macro librarian you use the Macro Librarian command which starts the dialog. The appearance of the dialog differs between the 16-Bit Edition and the 32-Bit Edition:

-	In the 32-Bit Edition, the dialog shows you a single window, which will list the macro libraries that you currently have attached and in use. You can click on a macro library name in the window to expand its display and reveal the list of keyboard macros that it contains.

-	In the 16-Bit Edition, the dialog contains two list windows. The upper window shows you the macro libraries that you currently have attached and in use; if you click on a macro library name in this window, the lower window will show the names of the individual macros within the library.


Examples Of Keyboard Macros

Some examples of keyboard macros demonstrate the use of the available features. The examples here cannot be recorded directly from the keyboard, but can easily be constructed in the macro editor.

EXAMPLE 1

The macro in this example adds "> " to the front of every line of the current file, starting at the line the caret is in

*OnError done

CaretStartOfLine

*Loop

  "> "

  CaretDown

  CaretStartOfLine

*EndLoop

:done

Note the error handler on the first line; when the CaretDown command fails at the end of the file, the error will be trapped and control transferred to the label ":done". As an error handler is established no error message box will be shown when this happens.

EXAMPLE 2

This example presents two macros that work together, running until you press the Escape key.

Macro 1:

FileNew

*OnError error

*OnEscape exit

*Loop

  "This is a nice looping macro"

  MacroPlayMacro2

  EditNewLine

  "    to show what happens"

  MacroPlayMacro2

  EditNewLine

  "         when you press Escape"

  MacroPlayMacro2

  EditNewLine

  EditNewLine

  *Loop 10

    50 "*"

    *Loop 50

      EditDeleteBackwards

    *EndLoop

  *EndLoop

  EditSelectAll

  EditDeleteSelection

*EndLoop

:exit

EditSelectAll

EditDeleteSelection

"All Done!"

EditNewLine

EditMarkUnchanged

*Exit

:error

EditSelectAll

EditDeleteSelection

"Error!"

EditNewLine

EditMarkUnchanged

*Exit

Macro 2:

*Loop 5

  CaretStartOfLine

  *Loop 30

    " "

  *EndLoop

  *Loop 30

    EditDeleteBackwards

  *EndLoop

  CaretEndOfLine

*EndLoop

To use the macros, you need to create them within a macro library, and then bind them to commands. You should bind the first macro to the MacroPlayMacro1 command, and the second to the MacroPlayMacro2 command.

Now, with the default mapping of key sequences to macro execution commands, you can play the first macro by typing Ctrl+1. As the macro runs, it executes the MacroPlayMacro2 command, which the binding you have set up causes the second macro to be executed.


Running DOS Commands

PFE gives you two ways of interacting with DOS applications.

-	You can start one or more DOS sessions running your command processor, within which you can run any DOS program. These sessions run independently of PFE; if you want to edit the output of any program you run in one, you'll need to use the clipboard to paste it into an edit window

-	You can start a DOS application, such as a compiler, and arrange for PFE to capture its output as it runs. When the command completes, you'll see the results in an edit window. You can run external commands, or those internal to your command processor, in this way.

Starting A DOS Prompt

Running A Command And Capturing Output


Starting A DOS Prompt

The Execute DOS Prompt command starts up a DOS session, in which you can issue any DOS commands you wish.

If you have defined a command processor with the "DOS Shell" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command, this program will be run.

If not, PFE will look at the environment variable COMSPEC, and if this is defined, will run the program named in it.

If neither of the above options specifies a command processor, PFE will start command.com (16-Bit Edition) or cmd.exe (32-Bit Edition)

The starting directory for the DOS session will be PFE's own current directory. This can be changed through the standard file opening dialogs run by items in the File menu.

You can start as many DOS sessions as you wish, and you can continue to use PFE while a session is running.

DOS sessions started in this way run independently of PFE. If you wish to edit anything that appears in their windows, use the standard clipboard mechanisms to paste it into PFE.


Running A Command And Capturing Output

PFE allows you to issue a DOS command, such as a compiler driver, and capture the output into a new edit window for inspection.

To do this, use the Execute DOS Command To Window command. This starts a dialog that lets you specify various things about the command you want to run

The dialog allows you to set:

-	The command line to be executed. This can be any legal DOS command, including built-in commands such as dir. If you are using the 4DOS command processor, you can also use aliases and command sequences separated by the current delimiter character. You can also have PFE substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window automatically for you.

-	The working directory to be used. PFE will make this the current directory for the command process before the command is issued (PFE's own current directory setting is not affected). You can also have PFE substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window automatically for you.

-	Whether PFE is to minimize itself into an icon once the command has been issued

-	Whether PFE is to sound a beep once the DOS command has completed.

-	Whether PFE is automatically to save any altered files before running the command

-	Whether PFE is to show the output in any previously used command output window, or to create a new one

-	Whether the output window is to scroll automatically to show you the end of the output, or is to show you the beginning

The values you set in the dialog box are remembered throughout the editing session, enabling you quickly to re-issue the same command with the minimum of effort.

You can run only one DOS command at a time in this way.

Because of the way output is captured, this is not a suitable way to run programs that may need you to interact with them. While output from the program will be captured, buffering within Windows or within the program itself will almost certainly mean that won't see any prompt that the program attempts to display, so you won't know what the program is asking for or when it is asking.

In order to run a DOS command, PFE requires you to have a helper module in the same directory as the main executable. The helper module is responsible for actually running the DOS command and redirecting its output.

For the 32-Bit Edition the helper module is pfedos32.exe. For the 16-Bit Edition the module is called pfedos.exe, and has an associated PIF file pfedos.pif. As supplied, this PIF file runs the command in full-screen and exclusive modes; if you are working in 386 enhanced mode, you may wish to use the PIF editor to modify this.

The Execute Repeat DOS Command To Window command allows you to repeat the last command you issued with this dialog without needing to specify the details again. Note that if the command line you gave contained substitution points, these will be re-evaluated, as will any you've specified in the pathname of the working directory.

This functionality is not available if you are running the 16-Bit Edition under Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98, or the 32-Bit Edition under Win32s.

Substituting The Current File Name In Commands And Directory Paths


Substituting The Current File Name In Commands And Directory Paths

PFE gives you a quick way to include the name of the file showing in the current window in the command lines and directory paths specified in the dialogs you start with the Execute DOS Command To Window and Execute Launch Application commands, and in commands you add to the Execute Menuwith the "Execute Menu" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

You mark a place in the command line or directory path where part of the full path name is to be substituted with a "%" character, followed by a letter to show which part you require. You can specify any of these substitutions:

%c	Substitutes the character position in the line where the caret is located in the current file; the first column position is numbered 1, and tab characters count as 1 column, whatever the display width is set to

%d	Substitutes the name of the directory containing the file. The drive component or server-and-share component of the name is not included, and the name will not end with a '\' character unless the directory is the root directory.

If the directory path substituted is the root directory "\", and the character preceding it is a "\" also, PFE will suppress the substitution; this allows you to concatenate a drive specification and a directory path safely by always supplying the intervening "\"

%e	Substitues the extension part or file type of the file name, without a leading "."

%f 	Substitutes the file title of the filename, comprising the filename and extension separated by a "."

%l	Substitutes the number of the line in the current file containing the caret (the first line of a file is line 1)

%n	Substitutes the filename part of the file name; this is the part of the final component before the '.' separator

%o	Substitutes the name of the directory owning the one containing the file. The drive component or server-and-share component of the name is not included, and the name will not end with a '\' character unless the directory is the root directory. If the file is held in the root directory, a single '\' character is substituted

If the directory path substituted is the root directory "\", and the character preceding it is a "\" also, PFE will suppress the substitution; this allows you to concatenate a drive specification and a directory path safely by always supplying the intervening "\"

%p	Substitutes the file name as an absolute pathname

%s	Substitutes a single '\' character in the command line, if and only if the previous character was not also a '\'. This enables you easily to build up directory paths without needing to worry about special handling for the root directory

%u	For a file that is held on a drive that is mounted on a drive letter, subsitutes the drive letter followed by a ':'. If the file is referenced by an UNCName, it substitutes the server name and the name of the share on the server, preceded by '\\' but without a trailing '\'

%%	Substitutes a single "%" character

For example, suppose that the file showing in the current window was named c:\software\graphit\source\main.c

The command line

nmake %n.obj

would be expanded by PFE to be

nmake main.obj

and the command line

dir %u\%d%s*.c

would expand into

dir c:\software\graphit\source\*.c

The directory pathname

%u\%d

would expand to be

c:\software\graphit

The special handling that the %d and %o substitutions give to the root directory "\" can be seen if you consider the filename c:\output.txt.

The simple substitution

dir %d

would result in the command

dir \

But the substitution

dir %u\%d%s*.c

would result in

dir c:\*.c

and PFE has suppressed the doubling of the "\" character that you might expect.

If you don't have a file open, or if the current window does not have a file name associated with it - for instance, if it is a window showing command output, or was created with a File New command and you have not yet associated a file name with it - substitution will fail and you will see an error message.

Expanded command lines must not be longer than 512 bytes in total size. Note that this allows you to generate command lines that are longer than will be accepted by either the operating system or the command processor program that is asked to run them.

Expanded directory paths can be up to 65 characters long in the 16-Bit Edition, and 255 characters long in the 32-Bit Edition.

By default, the 32-Bit Edition will substitute long file names into commands in their long forms. However, if you are running applications that cannot understand long file names, you can alter this behaviour by selecting the Substitute filenames in 8.3 format in the dialog that begins the application. With this item selected, long file names are converted into short 8.3 format before substitution is performed.


Launching Windows Applications

The Execute Launch Application command gives you a convenient way of starting another Windows or DOS application running. If you're developing a program, you'll find it a useful for starting up the latest version quickly.

Applications started in this way run independently of PFE. To run a DOS application such as a compiler, and see its output in an edit window, see the section on Running A Command And Capturing Output.

The command starts a dialog that lets you specify various things about the application you want to run. You can set:

-	The command line to be executed. You can have PFE substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window automatically for you if you wish.

-	The working directory to be used. PFE will make this the current directory for the command process before the command is issued (PFE's own current directory setting is not affected). You can have PFE substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window automatically for you if you wish.

-	Whether PFE is to minimize itself into an icon once the command has been issued

-	Whether PFE is automatically to save any altered files before starting the task

The values you set in the dialog box are remembered throughout the editing session, enabling you quickly to start the same application again with the minimum of effort.

If you check the Save Changed Files box, PFE will check whether any of the files that you are editing have been altered, and will ask you if you want to save them. You should take care if you reply Yes to the question, as all the files that have been altered will be saved. Note that windows holding un-named files are not checked for changes.

You can launch as many independent applications as you wish.

Substituting The Current File Name In Commands And Directory Paths


Adding Your Own Commands To The Execute Menu

As well as starting up Windows applications with the Execute Launch Application command, or running DOS programs such as compilers with the Execute DOS Command To Window command, PFE allows you to add your own items to the Execute Menu.

You can add up to 16 items, each with a menu name of your choice. For each item, you specify a command line and a working directory; the command line can start a Windows application that runs independently of PFE; or it can start a DOS command and capture its output to a window. You can also substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command and directory path before exexcution.

You can configure the menu from the "Execute Menu" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


Using Registry Configuration Sets
Using Registry Configuration Sets (32-Bit Edition Only)

This section, and all other information about Registry Configuration Sets, applies to the 32-Bit Edition only. The facilities are not available in the 16-Bit Edition.

The 32-Bit Edition of PFE stores all its configuration data - the settings you define for how you want it to work, the list of files you've recently edited, and so on - in the Windows Registry, rather than in an initialisation file as used by the 16-Bit Edition.

Using the registry allows each logged-on user of a workstation to have his or her entirely separate configurations; thus if many people use PFE on the same workstation, they can configure PFE to their requirements without affecting anyone else.

Unless you need to use any of the more advanced facilities that PFE provides, you needn't be concerned with any of the operation of the registry; you can simply let PFE store your settings, and you can use them.

However, if you work on a number of quite separate projects with different requirements at the same time, you might want to use multiple configuration sets, which allow you to divide your own configuration data into completely independent sets. Each set contains a completely separate list of settings, most-recently-files list and so on.

To let you do this, PFE supports as many configuration sets within the registry as you wish. Each set is given a unique name, which you can choose to describe its use. PFE creates one configuration set called "DefaultConfiguration" itself, and this is the one used unless you choose otherwise.

Managing Configuration Sets

You perform all the management of configuration sets from the "Configurations" panel in the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

This dialog lets you create configuration sets, copy values between sets, delete sets, export values from sets and import values into sets.

Using A Configuration Set

There are two ways in which you specify that a configuration set should be used when PFE starts running.

The first option gives you session-by-session choice, and can be an easy way of managing configurations for different projects. Normally, PFE will use the configuration set nominated as the default startup set when it begins, but the "/r" command line option lets you specify any set.

Thus, for example, starting PFE with the command line

pfe32 /r ACME.Config

would start PFE and tell it to use the configuration set called "ACME.Config".

The command

pfe32 /r "General Stuff"

would start PFE and tell it to use the configuration set called "General Stuff"; note here that because there is a space in the configuration set name, you must enclose it in quotes.

To use specific sets for projects, you might then set up a number of shortcuts, each starting PFE with a different configuration set named with a "/r" option.

The second way of starting PFE with a specific configuration set has a global effect. PFE starts normally using the set named as the default startup set, which by default is "DefaultConfiguration". However you can change the default startup set to be any of the configuration sets that you've established from the "Configurations" panel in the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Configuration Sets and the Control Station

The Control Station maintains two lists of favourite files for you. One list is visible in all instances of PFE, whatever configuration set is being used, and gives you a "global favourites" facility.

The second list is specific to each configuration set, and gives you a way to create a "project-specific" favourites list. Files that you add to this list when using one configuration set will not appear when you use a different set.

Configuration Sets and Multiple Instances

To help you avoid using a specific configuration set by accident, PFE checks the details of the set that is to use when it starts and you're using the default condition of running only one instance of PFE at any time.

-	If you're not running PFE already, starting it will always begin a new, first instance.

-	If you're running PFE already, and the instance is using the same configuration as the one you're just starting, control is transferred to it and a new instance is not started.

-	If you're running PFE already, and the instance is using a different configuration from the one you're just starting, a second copy of PFE will be started

Configuration Sets and DDE

Deciding whether or not to start a second copy of PFE, as described above, is actually achieved by altering the details of the DDE links that PFE instances support when you use specific configuration sets.

If the configuration set that you use to start PFE is the standard default set "DefaultConfiguration", the DDE service name that the instance will use is the default, "PFE32".

However, if you're using any other configuration set, the service name contains the configuration set name appended to "PFE32"; thus, if you start PFE with the command line

pfe32 /r ACME.Config

the instance started would use a DDE service name of "PFE32ACME.Config".


Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

Unless you started it with the command line option "/m", or used the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify that PFE should run multiple instances, PFE will act by default as a DDE Server, allowing you to control its actions from some other program. This program will need to have the ability to act as a DDE Client; many standard applications already support this.

If you are using an existing Windows application as a DDE client you will need to consult its documentation for how to perform the necessary operations. You can easily write your own client application in Visual Basic (the DDETester application supplied with PFE demonstrates many of the techniques you will need); or you can write at API level using the Microsoft DDEML support library described in the SDK documentation and third party books.

Depending on how many DDE commands your application needs to send to PFE, and how frequently, it may be adequate for it to operate by establishing a DDE connection, issuing the command, and then closing the connection.

If, though, the application is going to make heavy use of DDE, it will be more efficient for it to establish a conversation once and leave it established until it has finished. If PFE detects that there are DDE conversations in progress when the user tries to exit from it, it will show a dialog warning that a client application is still operating, and asking whether the user wishes to abandon the closedown.

Starting And Stopping A DDE Server

Issuing Commands Over A DDE Link

Requesting Data Over A DDE Link

Pasting Data Over A DDE Link

Opening Files Over a DDE Link

In this release of PFE, the DDE interfaces are still under development, and there may be considerable changes from what is described here in future versions.


Starting And Stopping A DDE Server

Normally, when you start PFE, it will run as a DDE server automatically. However, if you start PFE running in multiple-instance mode, either with the "/m" command line option, or by permitting multiple instances with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command, it will not automatically act as a server.

If you do want an instance of PFE that you started in this way to act as a DDE server, you can use the Options DDE Server command to activate server mode. You can also use this command to turn the server off; the menu item will have a check mark beside it when the server is running.

Normally, you should try to ensure that only one instance of PFE is running as a DDE server at any time. Although it is permissible to run multiple servers, you can't then predict which server an application will connect to at any time. There is thus the real chance that an application may send DDE commands to the wrong PFE instance.


Issuing Commands Over A DDE Link

DDE commands are sent to PFE using the standard DDE methods. Your application should open a DDE link to PFE specifying the relevant DDE service name, and a topic name of either "Editor" or "System". From Visual Basic for example, you would perform a Link.Execute operation. The DDE item name is not used.

Once the link is established, you can send one or more command strings to be executed. The command string should have the general form

[CommandName(argument,...)]

where the arguments you supply within the parentheses will vary depending on the command. The command name can be written in any mixture of upper- and lower-case letters. A maximum of 128 bytes can be sent in any transaction.

PFE will return a response of DDE_FACK immediately if the command syntax is ostensibly correct, or DDE_FNOTPROCESSED if there is some obvious error. The command itself is executed asynchronously to the DDE client, which will regain control immediately after sending it. If the last DDE command resulted in a lengthy action - such as loading a large file, or asking the user for input in a dialog box - the server may not be able to accept a new command immediately. In this case it will return a reply DDE_FBUSY to the client, which should wait for a suitable interval before attempting the command again.

To determine whether any DDE link command worked or not you need to request the data for the item "Result" from the "Editor" topic. This data item will contain the string "OK" if the command succeeded, "Error" if it failed, and "Busy" if the server has not yet completed its processing.

List Of DDE Commands


Requesting Data Over A DDE Link

The PFE DDE server allows you to request items of data from your application. For example, you can ask PFE whether the DDE server is busy, or what the result of the last DDE command was; you can also find out about the state of files that are being edited and so on.

To request data, you need to open a DDE link to the relevant DDE service name with an appropriate topic. The link item is the name of the information that you require. From Visual Basic, for example, you would perform a Link.Request operation. The reply will always be a string of characters: numbers are converted into ASCII digits.

List Of DDE Data Items


Pasting Data Over A DDE Link

PFE gives you several ways of pasting data into the current file over a DDE link.

Using the EditInsert() command

For small amounts of data, you can send the DDE command EditInsert(), giving the string to be pasted as the argument. This will often be the most convenient technique to use.

Using the clipboard

With this method, you should first place the data to be pasted into the Windows clipboard in CF_TEXT format, with the end of each line marked by a CR-LF bytes pair and a null byte marking the end of data.

Then,  you should issue the DDE command EditPaste().

The command will run asynchronously to the client application. To determine whether it succeeded or failed, you will need to request the data item "Result" from the "Editor" topic.

Using DDE Poke

With this method, you initiate a conversation with the PFE DDE server using the relevant DDE service name, the topic "Editor" and item "Paste".

Your application should first place the data to be pasted into a shareable global memory segment in CF_TEXT clipboard format, where each line is ended by a CR-LF byte pair, and a final null byte marks the end of the data.

It should then perform a DDE Poke operation passing the handle to the memory segment. From Visual Basic, for example, you would execute a Link.Poke command.

PFE will reply DDE_FACK if the command was accepted, DDE_FNOTPROCESSED if there was an error, and DDE_FBUSY if the server was busy and could not accept the command.

With the 16-Bit Edition you may not paste more than 64 kilobytes of data in a single operation. With the 32-Bit Edition there is no effective limit.

The paste operation will normally run asynchronously to the client application. To determine whether it succeeded or failed, you will need to request the data item "Result" from the "Editor" topic.


Opening Files Over A DDE Link

PFE gives you two distinct ways of opening files across a DDE link.

Using DDE Commands

The DDE commands FileOpen() and FileView() each allow you to open a single file, for editing or in read-only mode respectively. For opening small numbers of files, it will be most convenient to use this method.

The file names you give in these commands may include the normal DOS wildcard characters, and may include spaces if the Operating System supports them.

Using DDE Poke

To open a larger number of files, you can perform a DDE Poke operation, passing all the names in a single block of memory. To do this, you should

-	Create a suitably large block of shareable global memory (under Windows 3.1, this block must not exceed 64 kilobytes in size)

-	Place the name of the directory to be used by default with each file name at the start of the block, followed by a single null byte (ASCII code 0x00)

-	Place the names of all the files following this, terminating each name, including the last, with a single null byte. Files that are in the default directory should be stored without a directory path.

-	Terminate the block with a further null byte.

-	Perform a DDE Poke operation using the topic "Editor" and item name "OpenFilesEx" to open the files for editing, or the item name "ViewFilesEx" to open them in read-only mode.

PFE will open each file in turn for editing. If a file name does not start with a drive specification or a "\" character, the name of the default directory specified at the start of the block will be prepended to it; otherwise, the file name will be used exactly as presented.

File names may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters.

For example, a data block that contained

c:\source[0x00]my source.c[0x00]c:\windows\win.ini[0x00]*.h[0x00][0x00]

would open the files c:\source\my source.c,  c:\windows\win.ini and all the files matching the wildcard pattern c:\source\*.h

For compatibility with previous releases of PFE, DDE poke items FileOpen and FileView are also available. These have the same functionality as FileOpenEx and FileViewEx, but the format of the data block is different - items are separated by single space characters instead of null bytes. This use of the space character to separate file names means, of course, that file names containing spaces cannot be passed in the data block, so if your application needs to support all legal file names you should change to using the new items.


Using The Control Station
Using The Control Station (32-Bit Edition Only)

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition of PFE under Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98, you'll be able to use the Control Station to help you manage your work, and to handle large numbers of open files in an easy way. The Control Station is not available in the 16-Bit Edition.

The Control Station is a separate window from the main PFE window. When it's active, the window appears always above the main PFE window, and you can position it and size it as you choose on the screen. It will automatically hide itself when you iconise the main PFE window, or if you switch to another application.

To show the Control Station, use the Options Control Station command. The command will turn the Control Station on if it's not currently showing, and will turn it off if it is. PFE remembers the state of the Control Station  window at the end of each session, and automatically starts if for you in the next session if appropriate.

The Control Station window shows you a hierachy of folders, in a similar way to how your disk structure is presented in the Windows Explorer application's left-hand pane. These folders, though, are contained entirely within PFE - they don't exist on your disk. As with Windows Explorer, you can work on the folders and their contents by right-clicking with a mouse or pressing Shift+F10 to obtain a context menu of appropriate commands.

-	The top level, or root folder in the Control Station is called, simply, "Control Station" and is the point where you can manipulate the properties of the Control Station itself. The context menu for this folder contains a Properties command that allows you to configure the Control Station options.

Below this root folder are a number of other folders that manage the files that you have open at the moment, or files that you've used in the past.

-	The "Open Files" folder contains entries for each of the files that you currently are editing with PFE. As you open a file, an entry is added to this folder; as you close a file, the entry is removed. You'll be able to manage the file - to edit it, print it, close it - from the context menu you see when you right-click on the file's entry in the folder.

If you've used the Window Duplicate command to create more than one window showing a particular file, you'll see entries for each of the windows appear below the entry for the file itself. You'll be able to manipulate the file itself from the file entry's context menu as before; but now, to perform editing, you'll need to use the context menu for the specific window you want to work on.

This folder gives you a very simple way of moving around between lots of files that you're editing.

-	The "Recent Files" folder contains entries for all the files that you've worked with recently - in fact, the files shown are those that appear in the list of recently-used files in the File Menu. However, in theControl Station you'll see all the files in the recently-used list rather than the number you've specified should be shown on the menu; and the names will always be full path names, arranged in alphabetical order rather than with the most-recent files first.

The context menu for files in this folder lets you open the files for editing.

-	The "Favourites" folder contains entries for files that you like to work with frequently, and which you want to have quickly accessible.

The folder contains two sub-folders, in which the actual entries for the files are held. Entries in the first folder, called "All Configuration Sets", will be visible in all instances of PFE, whatever registry configuration set you specified should be used when they start. You can regard this is a "global favourites" folder.

The second sub-folder's name is that of the configuration set you are using - if you start PFE using th default set, it will be "DefaultConfiguration". File entries in this sub-folder are visible only to instances of PFE using the same configuration set - you can regard this as a "configuration specific" favourites folder.

When you first create it, the Control Station appears as a full window. If you have a large screen with high resolution you may find it convenient always to leave it in this state, but if you have a smaller display, or want to reduce clutter, you can choose to reduce the window to showing only a caption bar. This process, called rolling up, can be done either manually whenever you want, or automatically when you perform specific Control Station actions.


The Control Station "Root" Folder
The Control Station "Root" Folder (32-Bit Edition Only)

The root, or top-level, folder that is shown in the Control Station window is always called "Control Station". It owns all the other folders that exist within the Control Station, and lets you manage the Control Station as a whole.

Right-clicking on the folder shows you a context menu containing the following commands:

Properties	Starts a dialog that allows you to configure the Control Station to your liking

Help	Enters the help system to show you how to use the Control Station

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action


The Control Station Properties Dialog
The Control Station Properties Dialog (32-Bit Edition Only)

This dialog allows you to configure the Control Station to your liking. Within the dialog you'll see a set of tabs at the top, each of which selects a panel of settings.

You can move between the panels by clicking on the tabs, and set the options you require in each. When you've finished, you can click on OK to action your changes, or on Cancel to abandon them.

The Roll-Up Panel

The options in this panel allow you to configure how, and in what circumstances, the Control Station should roll itself up to leave just a small caption bar, occupying the minimum amount of screen space.

The section at the top, Roll-up Automatically After…, allows you to choose the situations in which the Control Station will automatically roll itself up when you perform actions from it.

-	Check the Opening or printing a file box to roll the window up automatically when you use the Control Station to open a file, or to print

-	Check the Switching to a file or window box to roll the window up automatically when you use the Control Station to switch to a new file that's already open

-	Check the Closing a file or window box to roll the window up automatically when you use the Control Station to close an open window, or to close a file and all its windows

-	Check the Manipulating a window box to roll the window up automatically when you use the Control Station to maximise, minimise or restore a window

-	Check the Any edit command box to roll the window up automatically when you use the Control Station to issue any editing command (such as initiating a Find operation) on a file that you're editing

Below this area are some miscellaneous options:

-	Check the Do not animate roll-up/roll-down box if you want the Control Station to change between its rolled-up and rolled-down appearance at once. By default, the Control Station animates the change, so that you see the appearance of the window getting larger or smaller. With a slow system or video card, you may find it best to disable animation

-	Check the Use caption right click to roll window if you want the Control Station to roll up or down when you click the right mouse button in the caption bar. By default, a right click in the caption invokes the standard Windows action of showing you the system menu.

You can always roll the window up or down by double-clicking the left mouse button in the caption bar

The Options Panel

This panel contains a number of configuration options

-	Check the Do not confirm removal of items from folders box if you do not want the Control Station to ask for confirmation when you remove items from the "Recent Files" folder or the "Favourites" folders. By default, you'll be asked whether you really do want to carry out the removal operation


The Control Station "Open Files" Folder
The Control Station "Open Files" Folder (32-Bit Edition Only)

The "Open Files" folder of the Control Station contains entries for all the files that you're currently editing. You can manipulate the files by using their context menus - you can initiate edit actions, switch between files, print files, close files, and so on.

The folder context menu

Right-clicking on the "Open Files" folder itself shows you a context menu that lets you open files and perform other actions.

Edit File	Opens a file for editing. This command is equivalent to the File Open command

View File 	Opens a file in read-only mode. This command is equivalent to the File View command

Create New File Window	Creates a new, empty edit window. This command is equivalent to the File New command

Change Directory	Changes PFE's current working directory. This command is equivalent to the File Change Directory command

Print All	Prints all the files that you're currently editing. This command is equivalent to the File Print All command

Close All	Closes all the files that you're currently editing. This command is equivalent to the File Close All command

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action

The file context menu

Right-clicking on an entry for a file in the "Open Files" folder will show you a context menu of file-related operations. The appearance of this context menu depends on how many windows you have open showing the file.

If you have only one window showing the file, the menu combines file-related and editing actions in a single menu, since there can be no confusion about exactly which window you want to apply an edit command to. You'll see the following items:

Switch To	Activates the single window showing the file, restoring it if it's iconic. You can also perform this action by double-clicking on the file entry

File	This menu item allows you to select various file-related actions

Save	Saves the file to disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save command

Save As	Saves the file to disk, allowing you to chose the name of the file on disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save As command

Print	Prints the file. This command is equivalent to the File Print command

Add To Favourites	This menu item allows you to add an entry for the file to your list of favourites

Current Configuration

Adds the name of the file to the configuration set specific set of favourites (the name of the menu item will vary, and will show the actual configuration set name)

All Configuration Sets

Adds the name of the file to the global set of favourites, used with all configuration sets

Change To File's Directory

Sets PFE's current working directory to be the one containing the file. This command is equivalent to the File Change To File's Directory command

Close	Closes the file. This command is equivalent to the File Close command

Window	This menu item allows you to select various window-related actions

Restore	Sets the file's window to be in a restored state.

Maximise	Sets the file's window to be in a maximised state.

Iconise	Sets the file's window to be in an iconised or minimised state.

Close	Closes the window and the file. This command is equivalent to the File Close command

Edit	This menu item allows you to select various editing actions

Goto Line	Moves to a specified position in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Goto Line command

Find	Searches for the occurrence of a string in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Find command

Repeat Last Find	Repeats the last search operation. This command is equivalent to the Edit Repeat Last Find command

Replace	Replaces occurrences of a string in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Replace command

Repeat Last Replace	Repeats the last replace operation. This command is equivalent to the Edit Repeat Last Find command

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action

If you've used the Window Duplicate command to create more than one window showing a file, then the appearance of the file context menu will alter. In this case, editing actions can't appear, as these need to be applied to a specific window; and some window management actions are added. The context menu will appear like this:

Switch To	Activates the first window showing the file. Unlike the case of the file context menu described above where only one window is showing the file, you cannot perform this action by double-clicking on the file entry - instead, double-clicking performs the standard Windows action of expanding or collapsing the list of widows below the file's entry

File	This menu item allows you to select various file-related actions

Save	Saves the file to disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save command

Save As	Saves the file to disk, allowing you to chose the name of the file on disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save As command

Print	Prints the file, using the formatting of the first window showing the file. This command is equivalent to the File Print command

Add To Favourites

Current Configuration

Adds the name of the file to the configuration set specific set of favourites (the name of the menu item will vary, and will show the actual configuration set name)

All Configuration Sets

Adds the name of the file to the global set of favourites, used with all configuration sets

Change To File's Directory

Sets PFE's current working directory to be the one containing the file. This command is equivalent to the File Change To File's Directory command

Close	Closes the file and all its windows. This command is equivalent to the File Close command

Windows	This menu item allows you to select various window-related actions

Show Windows	Expands or collapses the list of windows currently showing the file. You can also do this by clicking the "+" box to the left of file's entry, or double-clicking on the file entry

Iconise All Windows	Sets all the windows showing the file to an iconised state

Restore All Windows	Sets all the windows showing the file to be in a restored state

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action

The window context menu

If you've used the Window Duplicate command to create more than one window showing a file, you'll see a list of items below the file entry in the "Open Files" folder, one for each window. (If the list is not visible, double-click on the file entry or click on the "+" box to the left of the entry)

The context menu that shows when you right-click on one of the window entries contains the following items:

Switch To	Activates the single window showing the file, restoring it if it's iconic. You can also perform this action by double-clicking on the file entry

File	This menu item allows you to select various file-related actions

Save	Saves the file to disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save command

Save As	Saves the file to disk, allowing you to chose the name of the file on disk. This command is equivalent to the File Save As command

Print	Prints the file, using the formatting applied to the selected window. This command is equivalent to the File Print command

Add To Favourites	This menu item allows you to add an entry for the file to your list of favourites

Current Configuration

Adds the name of the file to the configuration set specific set of favourites (the name of the menu item will vary, and will show the actual configuration set name)

All Configuration Sets

Adds the name of the file to the global set of favourites, used with all configuration sets

Change To File's Directory

Sets PFE's current working directory to be the one containing the file. This command is equivalent to the File Change To File's Directory command

Close	Closes the file. This command is equivalent to the File Close command

Window	This menu item allows you to select various window-related actions

Restore	Sets the file's window to be in a restored state.

Maximise	Sets the file's window to be in a maximised state.

Iconise	Sets the file's window to be in an iconised or minimised state.

Close	Closes the window. This command is equivalent to the Window Close command

Edit	This menu item allows you to select various editing actions

Goto Line	Moves to a specified position in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Goto Line command

Find	Searches for the occurrence of a string in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Find command

Repeat Last Find	Repeats the last search operation. This command is equivalent to the Edit Repeat Last Find command

Replace	Replaces occurrences of a string in the file. This command is equivalent to the Edit Replace command

Repeat Last Replace	Repeats the last replace operation. This command is equivalent to the Edit Repeat Last Find command

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action


The Control Station "Recent Files" Folder
The Control Station "Recent Files" Folder (32-Bit Edition Only)

The Control Station's "Recent Files" folder provides a view of the files that you've used recently, which also appear on the most-recently-used list on the File Menu.

Unlike the MRU list on the menu, however, the "Recent Files" folder always contains all the filenames that are recorded; and the names are shown as full pathnames, arranged in alphabetical rather than recent-usage order.

As with most of the other folders in the Control Station, both the folder itself and the file items within it have a context menu that you access by clicking the right mouse button on the entry.

The folder context menu

Right-clicking on the "Recent Files" folder item itself shows you the context menu that lets you operate on the folder as a whole. The menu contains the following items:

Empty Folder	Removes all the items from the folder, and from the the most-recently-used list on the File Menu. By default, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to do this, but you can use the Properties command in the context menu for the "Control Station" folder to turn off the check.

This action is exactly similar to the "Empty MRU List" command in the "MRU List" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command

Note that although entries for the files concerned are removed from the folder, the files themselves are not removed from your disk.

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action

The file context menu

Right-clicking on the entry for a file in the "Recent Files" folder shows you the context menu that lets you operate on the file itself. The menu contains the following items:

Edit File	Opens the file for editing. You can also perform this action by double-clicking the left mouse button on the file item

View File	Opens the file in read-only mode. You can also perform this action by double-clicking the left mouse button on the file item while holding the Shift key down

Remove From Folder	Removes the file from the folder, and from the the most-recently-used list on the File Menu. By default, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to do this, but you can use the Properties command in the context menu for the "Control Station" folder to turn off the check.

Note that although the file's details are removed from the folder, the file itself is not removed from your disk.

Add To Favourites	This menu item allows you to add an entry for the file to your list of favourites

Current Configuration

Adds the name of the file to the configuration set specific set of favourites (the name of the menu item will vary, and will show the actual configuration set name)

All Configuration Sets

Adds the name of the file to the global set of favourites, used with all configuration sets

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action


The Control Station "Favourites" Folder
The Control Station "Favourites" Folder (32-Bit Edition Only)

The Control Station's "Favourites" contains entries for files that you like to use frequently, and for which you'd like to have a rapid way to access them.

The "Favourites" folder itself contains no files, and has no context menu. It does, though, contain two sub-folders, and the entries for your favourite files are stored here.

Favourite files are stored in a way that makes use of PFE's system of registry configuration sets, which give you a way of storing completely independent sets of configuration and usage data in the registry, selectable with the "/r" command line option. The system gives you a way of storing different configuration data for your different projects.

One sub-folder of the main "Favourites" folder is always named "All Configuration Sets". Favourite files that you record here are available in all instances of PFE that you run, whatever configuration set you choose to use. You can regard this as a set of "global favourites".

The other sub-folder of the main "Favourites" folder has a variable name, that is derived from the name of the actual configuration set in use. By default, unless you choose otherwise, this will be "DefaultConfiguration". Favourite files that you record here will appear only to instances of PFE that you start using the same configuration set - you can regard these as "configuration-specific favourites".

To see the entries in the "Favourites" folder itself, or in either of its sub-folders, click the "+" sign to the left of the folder entry, or double-click the left mouse button on it.

The folder context menu

Each of the two sub-folders of the main "Favourites" folder has a context menu that lets you manipulate the entries in the folder as a whole. The items in the menu are as follows:

Add File	Allows you to add an entry for an existing file to the folder concerned. PFE will show you a file browsing dialog that will allow you to select the file concerned

Empty Folder	Removes all the entries from the folder. By default, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to do this, but you can use the Properties command in the context menu for the "Control Station" folder to turn off the check.

Note that although entries for the files concerned are removed from the folder, the files themselves are not removed from your disk.

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action

The file context menu

Right-clicking on the entry for a file in either of the favourites sub-folders folder shows you the context menu that lets you operate on the file itself. The menu contains the following items:

Edit File	Opens the file for editing. You can also perform this action by double-clicking the left mouse button on the file item

View File	Opens the file in read-only mode. You can also perform this action by double-clicking the left mouse button on the file item while holding the Shift key down

Remove From Folder	Removes the file from the folder. By default, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to do this, but you can use the Properties command in the context menu for the "Control Station" folder to turn off the check.

Note that although the file's details are removed from the folder, the file itself is not removed from your disk.

Cancel	Cancels the menu without performing any action


Rolling Up The Control Station Window
Rolling Up The Control Station Window (32-Bit Edition Only)

When first created, the Control Station appears as a normal, full size window. You can move it around the screen and alter its size in the normal way; but it's quite likely that you'll prefer to keep the window out of the way when you're not using it, to reduce screen clutter.

To let you have as much free screen space as possible, the Control Station window can be rolled up, or reduced to a simple caption bar. You have a number of ways of rolling the window up, depending on how you like to work.

Firstly, you can always roll the window up by double-clicking the left mouse button in the window's caption. This technique also lets you roll the window down again when you want to work with the Control Station.

The other techniques are all optional, and by default are not active. You can configure them from the Control Station Properties Dialog, which you start from the context menu of the root-level "Control Station" folder that shows at the top of the window.

Using the dialog, you can specify that you want to:

-	Use a single click of the right mouse button in the caption to roll the window up or down. By default, clicking the right mouse button in the caption causes the standard Windows action of showing you the window's system menu.

-	Automatically roll the window up when you perform a specific action in the Control Station. For example, you can have the window roll up automatically whenever you open a file; whenever you switch from one window to another; or whenever you issue an edit command.


Reference Section

This section of the help file contains reference material on PFE.

Command Line Options

Dictionary Of Functions

Default Key Mappings

DDE Commands And Data Items

Language Awareness


Command Line Options

When you start PFE, you can give several options on the command line to control its actions. These options should follow the name of the PFE executable itself, and precede any file names.

ACTION OPTIONS

These options control what you require PFE to do when you start it.

/p	This option starts PFE in auto-print mode, letting you use it as a simple tool to print files without editing them.

You must always follow this option with the names of one or more files. PFE will open the files in read-only mode, and print them to the system default printer device. Once the files have been spooled for printing, PFE will terminate.

Under Windows NT, Windows 95 and Windows 98, the file names given on the command line should be enclosed in quotes to ensure that file names containing spaces are correctly handled.

For more details of using this option, see Using PFE As A File Printer.

RUN MODE OPTIONS

These options control PFE's run mode, or whether more than one instance of it will run at a time. You can set the default run mode with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command, but you can override that value when you start PFE with a command line option.

You can give one of the following options to control the run mode, overriding the initialisation file:

/m	If the option is given, the command will start a new instance of PFE whether any previous instance is running or not. If it is absent, PFE will attempt to pass control to any other instance that is running as a DDE server, and will start as a separate instance only if this fails.

An instance of PFE started with this option present will not act as a DDE server unless the "/d" option was also used.

/s	If this option is given, the command will look for any previously-running instance, and will activate it instead of running a new one. If you've given any files on the command line, at least one running instance must also be acting as a DDE server.

If no instance is already running, or if it can't be activated, a new instance will start.

PFE will always run as a separate instance if you use the "/p" option

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

These options affect how PFE configures itself when it starts up. They have no effect if you use the "/p" option.

/d	If this option is given, an instance of PFE started with the "/m" option (or with an option that implies the "/m" option) will act by default as a DDE server; without it the instance will not have the server enabled when it starts.

/i directorypath (16-Bit Edition Only)

This option specifies a directory path name that identifies the directory in which PFE should look for its initialisation file and default key map file. This switch overrides the default value (the Windows directory) or any location set with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

The directory path must not have a trailing "\" character unless it specifies the root directory of a drive

Using this option implies the "/m" option; a new instance of PFE will be started whether or not any others are running, and will not by default run as a DDE server.

This option is supported only in the 16-Bit Edition; for the 32-Bit Edition, refer to the "/r" option.

/k pathname

This option specifies a key map file to be loaded on start-up instead of the pfe.key or pfe32.key file in the initialisation directory. Pathname can specify any valid key map file; if it is the single character "-" (minus) PFE will not load any key mapping at all, but will use the built-in default values described in this help file.

Using this option implies the "/m" option; a new instance of PFE will be started whether or not any others are running, and will not by default run as a DDE server.

Whatever value you give for pathname, using this option will disable all use of the default pfe.key file. The Save button in the key mapping dialog will not be available when you change the mapping. To save to this file,  you will need to use the Save As button and give the name explicitly.

If the pathname contains space characters, you will need to enclose it in quotes.

/r configuration-set-name (32-Bit Edition Only)

This option specifies the registry configuration set which PFE is to use to obtain and record its various settings.

This option is supported only in the 32-Bit Edition; for the 16-Bit Edition, refer to the "/i" option.

OTHER OPTIONS

These options control general actions; all are ignored if you use the "/p" option.

/g position

If this option is given, PFE will automatically move the caret to the specified line number and character location in the first file named in the command line. If the first file named contains a wildcard character, the option is ignored

The position value can be a simple line number, or any non-relative file position specification.

/v	If this option is given, PFE will open any files that you name on the command line in read-only mode.

/w number

This option controls how PFE positions the windows it creates for files specified on the command line. It can either place the window and the caret in the positions they had when you last edited the file; or it can use a default window position and place the caret at the start of the first line.

The default behaviour is set by the "Window Position Reuse" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command; if you don't change the settings, then PFE will normally attempt to open the file as it was when you last ended it.

The "/w" option allows you to override this default setting. If number is 1, PFE will always attempt to open the window as last time; if number is 0, it will never do so.

Note that if a file being opened has been altered by some other program since you last used it within PFE, the window will be positioned as it previously was, but the caret will revert to the start of the first line.

File position data is maintained in the Most Recently-Used Files list that appears on the File Menu.

Examples

A command line like this

pfe data.txt results.txt

will start PFE, or activate a previously-running instance that was acting as a DDE server, and open the files data.txt and results.txt in the current directory.

The line

pfe /v data.txt results.txt

would act in the same way; but the files would be opened in read-only mode.

The line

pfe32 /p "my results file.txt"

will start a new instance of PFE, which will load the file my results file.txt, print it to the system default printer, and terminate. Note that it is necessary to enclose the filename in quotes if it contains spaces.

The command line

pfe /g27/5 cat.c dog.c

will open files cat.c and dog.c. The caret in the window showing cat.c will be automatically positioned at window column 5 of line 27; the caret in the window showing dog.c will be positioned at the start of the file.

The command line

pfe /m

will start a new instance of PFE, whether or not any others were also running. The DDE server will not be enabled when the instance starts.

The command line

pfe /k mapping.key

will start a new instance of PFE and load the key mappings contained in the file mapping.key in the current directory. The DDE server will not be enabled when the instance starts.

The 16-Bit Edition command line

pfe /i c:\project

will start a new instance of PFE and look in directory c:\project for the initialisation file and default key map file. The DDE server will not be enabled when the instance starts.

The 32-Bit Edition command line

pfe32 /r "Project Settings"

will start PFE and instruct it to use the configuration settings held in the registry configuration set named "Project Settings". If you already have an instance of PFE started that is using this registry configuration set, then by default this instance will be activated instead. Note the use of quotes around the configuration set name; these are essential if the name contains spaces.


Dictionary Of Functions

PFE allows you to map keyboard keys or key sequences to the following functions, which appear in the functions list of the key mapping dialog.

Not all the functions that you can map to keys have equivalent menu commands; those that do have [*] shown following the description.

CaretBottomOfWindow	Moves the caret to the start of the lowest line visible in the window

CaretBottomOfWindowSelect
Moves the caret to the start of the lowest line visible in the window, extending the selection

CaretDown	Moves the caret one line down

CaretDownSelect	Moves the caret one line down, extending the selection

CaretEndOfLine	Moves the caret to the end of the current line

CaretEndOfLineSelect	Moves the caret to the end of the current line, extending the selection

CaretEndOfFile	Moves the caret to the end of the current file

CaretEndOfFileSelect	Moves the caret to the end of the current file, extending the selection

CaretLeft	Moves the caret one character to the left

CaretLeftSelect	Moves the caret one character to the left, extending the selection

CaretLeftWord	Moves the caret one word to the left

CaretLeftWordSelect	Moves the caret one word to the left, extending the selection

CaretPageDown	Moves one page down in the current file

CaretPageUp	Moves one page up in the current file

CaretRight	Moves the caret one character to the right

CaretRightSelect	Moves the caret one character to the right, extending the selection

CaretRightWord	Moves the caret one word to the right

CaretRightWordSelect	Moves the caret one word to the right, extending the selection

CaretStartOfFile	Moves the caret to the start of the current file

CaretStartOfFileSelect	Moves the caret to the start of the current file, extending the selection

CaretStartOfLine	Moves the caret to the start of the current line

CaretStartOfLineSelect	Moves the caret to the start of the current line, extending the selection

CaretStartOfText	Moves the caret to the first non-white-space character in the current line

CaretStartOfTextSelect	Moves the caret to the first non-white-space character in the current line, extending the selection

CaretTopOfWindow	Moves the caret to the start of the top line in the window

CaretTopOfWindowSelect	Moves the caret to the start of the top line in the window, extending the selection

CaretUp	Moves the caret one line up

CaretUpSelect	Moves the caret one line up, extending the selection

EditCancelSelection	Removes any highlight from selected text in the current window

EditClearUndo	Forgets the details of all edit actions performed up to this point on the current file, freeing off the memory used to hold them [*]

EditCopy	Copies the selected text to the clipboard [*]

EditCut	Copies the selected text to the clipboard and deletes it [*]

EditDeleteSelection	Deletes the selected text

EditDeleteBackwards	Deletes the character to the left of the caret

EditDeleteForwards	Deletes the character to the right of the caret

EditDeleteLine	Deletes the whole of the line that the caret is in [*]

EditDeleteToEndOfLine	Deletes from the position of the caret to the end of the current line [*]

EditGotoLine	Starts a dialog that prompts for the line number to go to in the current file [*]

EditInsertHardTab	Inserts a TAB character, whether or not the current window's Window Mode is set for soft tabbing

EditInsertSoftTab	Inserts the required number of spaces to bring the caret to the next TAB stop position, even if the current window's Window Mode is not set for soft tabbing

EditInsertTab	Inserts either a TAB character or the required number of spaces to bring the caret to the next TAB stop position, depending on whether the current window's Window Mode is set for hard or soft tabbing

EditMarkUnchanged	Removes PFE's indication that the current file has been altered

EditNewLine	Inserts a new line character at the position of the caret

EditPaste	Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current file at the position of the caret [*]

EditSearch	Starts a dialog to search for a string in the current file [*]

EditSelectLine	Selects all the characters in the line that the caret is within, moving the caret to the start of line and scrolling the window, if necessary, to make it visible

EditSelectWord	Selects the whole word that the caret is currently within [*]

EditShowCaret	Adjusts the position of the text in the current window so that the caret is as close to the central line as possible [*]

EditShowNextLine	Scrolls the window upwards to show the next line in the file. The caret remains in the same place within the file

EditShowNextPage	Scrolls the window upwards to show the next page in the file. The caret remains in the same place within the file

EditShowPreviousLine	Scrolls the window downwards to show the previous line in the file. The caret remains in the same place within the file

EditShowPreviousPage	Scrolls the window downwards to show the previous page in the file. The caret remains in the same place within the file

EditSplitLine	Splits the current line at the position of the caret, leaving the caret unmoved

EditRepeatLastFind	Repeats the last find operation [*]

EditRepeatLastReplace	Repeats the last replace operation [*]

EditReplace	Replaces occurrences of one string with another string [*]

EditTextIndent	Indents the current line, or all the lines in a selection, by one tab stop [*]

EditTextInsertASCIICode	Starts a dialog to insert a character specified by its ASCII code [*]

EditTextLowercaseSelection
Converts all the letters in the current selection to lower case [*]

EditTextMatchBrace	Moves the caret to the brace character matching the one currently under it, having regard to language syntax [*]

EditTextMatchBraceSelect	Moves the caret to the brace character matching the one currently under it, having regard to language syntax, and highlights all the text between and including the braces [*]

EditTextReformat	Reformats the paragraph containing the caret, or all the highlighted lines, so that no text extends past the wrap margin; empty lines are removed [*]

EditTextReformatParagraph	Reformats the paragraph containing the caret, or all the highlighted lines, so that no text extends past the wrap margin; paragraph structure is retained [*]

EditTextTransposeCharacters
Exchanges the character under the caret with the one to its left [*]

EditTextUndent	Undents the current line, or all the lines in a selection, by one tab stop [*]

EditTextUppercaseSelection
Changes all the text that is currently selected to be upper case [*]

EditTextWidenBraceSelect	Highlights all the text between and including the first matching pair of brace characters that includes either the currently-highlighted text, or the character under the caret if no text is highlighted [*]

EditUndo	Undoes the last edit action you performed [*]

ExecControlPanel	Starts the Windows Control Panel [*]

ExecDOSCommand	Starts a dialog that allows you to run a DOS command, capturing output in an edit window [*]

ExecDOSPrompt	Runs a DOS command-line shell [*]

ExecLaunchApp	Starts a Windows or DOS application to run independently of PFE [*]

ExecExplorer	Runs the Windows Explorer. This command is available only if you are running under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 or later [*]

ExecFileManager	Runs the Windows File Manager [*]

ExecPrintManager	Runs the Windows Print Manager. This command is not available if you are running under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 or later [*]

ExecProgramManager	Runs the Windows Program Manager [*]

ExecRepeatDOSCommand 	Repeats the last DOS command run with the ExecDOSCommand function [*]

ExecTaskManager	Runs the Windows Task Manager [*]

ExecUserCommandnumber	Executes a command that you have configured on the Execute Menu, where number, which is from 1 to 16, specifies the command by position on the menu

FileAbandon	Closes the file being edited in the current window, discarding any unsaved changes

FileChangeDirectory	Starts a dialog to allow you to select a new working directory [*]

FileChangeToFileDirectory	Changes the working directory to be the one containing the current file [*]

FileClose	Closes the file being edited in the current window, prompting if there are unsaved changes [*]

FileCloseAll	Closes all the files being edited, prompting if any of them contain unsaved changes [*]

FileExit	Terminates the PFE editing session [*]

FileInsert	Inserts a file into the current one at the position of the caret [*]

FileMail	Mails the current file as an attachment using a MAPI mailer such as Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Mail [*]

FileName	Starts a dialog that allows you to change the name of the file associated with the current window [*]

FileNew	Creates a new empty edit window for an unnamed file [*]

FileOpen	Opens an existing file for editing [*]

FileOpenSelection	Opens an existing file, whose name is highlighted as the selection in the current window, for editing

FilePrint	Prints the current file [*]

FilePrintAll	Prints all open files [*]

FilePageSetup	Starts a dialog that allows you to select the printer font and margins to use with the current printer device [*]

FilePrintSetup	Runs a dialog that allows printer information to be configured [*]

FileSave	Saves the current file to disk, provided that it has been altered [*]

FileSaveAs	Starts a dialog that allows you to save the current file to disk, specifying the output file name [*]

FileSaveAll	Saves all altered files and templates [*]

FileView	Starts a dialog that allows you to open an existing file in read-only mode [*]

FileWrite	Starts a dialog that allows you to write the current file to disk whether or not it has been changed, specifying the name of the output file [*]

HelpAbout	Shows PFE's About box [*]

HelpCommands	Displays the PFE Help File at the Commands topic [*]

HelpContents	Displays the PFE Help File at the Contents topic [*]

HelpContextHelp	Starts the Windows help engine to give help on either the highlighted text in the current window, or the word under the caret [*]

HelpOnHelp	Starts the Windows help engine to give help about itself [*]

HelpProcedures	Displays the PFE Help File at the Procedures topic [*]

HelpReference	Displays the PFE Help File at the Reference topic [*]

HelpUserDefinednumber	Starts the Windows help engine, using the number help file configured with the "User Help Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. Number must be between 1 and 5 [*]

MacroLibrarian	Starts the Macro Librarian dialog to manage keyboard macros [*]

MacroLoadRecording	Starts a dialog that allows you to load the active keyboard recording from a .kbm file on disk [*]

MacroLockRecording	Locks the active keyboard recording, so you cannot record over it or edit it

MacroPlayMacronumber	Replays the library keyboard macro that has been bound as macro number, where number is between 1 to 20.

MacroPlayRecording	Replays the active keyboard recording [*]

MacroSaveRecording	Saves the active keyboard recording  to a file in the startup directory called pfe.kbm (16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.kbm (32-Bit Edition) so that it will automatically be loaded at the start of the next session [*]

MacroSaveRecordingAs	Starts a dialog that allows you to save the active keyboard recording  to a file of your choice [*]

MacroStartRecording	Starts recording keystrokes and menu selections into the active keyboard recording [*]

MacroStopRecording	Stops recording keystrokes and menu selections into the active keyboard recording [*]

MacroToggleRecordingLock	Unlocks the active keyboard recording if it is locked, or locks it if is unlocked [*]

MacroUnlockRecording	Unlocks the active keyboard recording, allowing you to record over it or edit it

OptionsControlStationHide	Turns the Control Station off. This command is available in the 32-Bit Edition only

OptionsControlStationShow	Turns the Control Station on. This command is available in the 32-Bit Edition only

OptionsCurrentModes	Starts a dialog to change the current window and file modes [*]

OptionsDDEStart	Starts the DDE server

OptionsDDEServer	Stops the DDE server

OptionsDDEToggle	Starts the DDE server if it is not running, and stops it if it is [*]

OptionsDefaultModes	Starts a dialog that allows you to change the window modes for specific file types [*]

OptionsKeyMappings	Starts a dialog that allows you to change the mapping of keys to functions [*]

OptionsPreferences	Starts a dialog that allows you to configure how you wish PFE to operate [*]

OptionsPrefixKeys	Starts a dialog that allows the you to define what prefix keys are active

OptionsResetModes	Sets the window modes for the current window, and the file modes for the file that it is showing, to those appropriate for the file's type [*]

OptionsScreenFontAnsi	Sets the screen font to be the standard non-proportional ANSI font]

OptionsScreenFontOEM	Sets the screen font to be the standard OEM font

OptionsScreenFontOther	Starts a dialog that allows the user to select any screen font

OptionsScreenFontSystem	Sets the screen font to be the standard non-proportional system font

OptionsToggleControlStation

Turns the Control Station off it is on, and on if it is off. The command is available in the 32-Bit Edition only. [*]

OptionsToggleInsertMode 	Switches between insert and overwrite modes

OptionsToggleLineNumbers 	Turns line numbering on or off in the current window

OptionsToggleStatusBar	Makes the status bar visible or invisible

OptionsToolbarBottom 	Positions the tool bar at the bottom of the screen

OptionsToolbarFloat	Makes the tool bar into a detached floating window

OptionsToolbarHide	Makes the tool bar invisible

OptionsToolbarLeft 	Positions the tool bar at the left of the screen

OptionsToolbarRight	Positions the tool bar at the right of the screen

OptionsToolbarShow	Makes an invisible tool bar visible at its previous location

OptionsToolbarTop	Positions the tool bar at the top of the screen

SysSetMenuMode	Highlights the leftmost menu item on the main window's menu bar, so you can easily access menu items from the keyboard. The effect is the same as pressing and releasing the Alt key.

TemplateFileAttach	Attaches a template file so the templates within it can be used [*]

TemplateFileCreate	Creates a new, empty template file [*]

TemplateFileDetach 	Detaches an attached template file [*]

TemplateFileSave	Saves an altered template file to disk [*]

TemplateDelete	Deletes a template from a template file [*]

TemplateEdit 	Edits a template from within a template file [*]

TemplateFindMark	Searches in a forward direction from the position of the caret for the next occurrence of a template marker [*]

TemplateInsert	Inserts a template from a template file into the current file at the position of the caret [*]

TemplateInsertMark	Inserts a template marker into a template [*]

TemplateNew 	Creates a new empty window suitable for editing a template [*]

TemplateStore	Stores a template in a template file [*]

TemplateStoreAs	Stores a template in a template file, allowing its name to be changed [*]

WindowArrangeIcons 	Arranges all iconized windows neatly [*]

WindowCascade	Arranges all non-iconic windows in a cascade [*]

WindowClose	Closes the current window [*]

WindowDuplicate	Makes an exact duplicate of the current window [*]

WindowIconizeAll	Makes all existing windows iconic [*]

WindowMaximize	Maximizes the current window [*]

WindowNext	Switches control to the next window [*]

WindowPrevious	Switches control to the previous window [*]

WindowRestore	Restores the current window from iconized or maximized state

WindowRestoreAll	Restores all windows from iconized state [*]

WindowTileHorizontal	Arranges all non-iconic windows in a tile pattern, maximizing their depth [*]

WindowTileVertical	Arranges all non-iconic windows in a tile pattern, maximizing their width [*]

WindowWiden	Adjusts the size and position of the current window to make it as wide as possible [*]


The Default Key Mappings

As supplied, PFE contains a set of key mappings that enable you to perform the most common operations quickly. You may use these as they stand, or may modify them to suit your preferences.

By default, no prefix keys are enabled, so that only single keys are available for mapping.

Description Of Default Key Mappings

Table Of Keys And Default Functions


Description Of Default Key Mappings

This section lists the keys that have default mappings, giving you a description of the action that they carry out and the equivalent menu command (if any).

For a table that lists the keys with the names of the functions used in the key mapping dialog, see the Table Of Keys And Default Functions.

FUNCTION KEYS

F1	Opens the PFE Help File at the Contents topic

Shift+F1	Executes the Help Screen/Menu Help command to enter interactive help mode

Ctrl+F1	Executes the Help Context Help command to give help on the highlighted text in the current window or the word under the caret

F2	Executes the Edit Find command to search for a string

Shift+F2	Executes the Edit Repeat Last Find command to repeat the last search operation

F3	Executes the Edit Replace command to replace strings

Shift+F3	Executes the Edit Repeat Last Replace command to repeat the last replace operation

F4	Executes the Template Find Mark command to search for a template mark

Shift+F4	Executes the Window Tile Horizontal command to arrange windows in a tile pattern

Alt+F4	Executes the File Exit command to end your PFE session

Shift+F5	Executes the Window Cascade command to arrange windows in a cascade pattern

Ctrl+F5	Executes the Edit Show Caret command to bring the line containing the caret to the centre of the window

F6	Executes the Template Insert Mark command to insert a template mark

Ctrl+F6	Executes the Window Next command to activate the next edit window

Ctrl+Shift+F6	Executes the Window Previous command to activate the previous edit window

F7	Executes the Macro Play Recording command to replay a keyboard macro

Shift+F7	Executes the Macro Start Recording command to begin recording a keyboard macro

Ctrl+F7	Executes the Macro Stop Recording to stop recording a keyboard macro

F9	Executes the Template Insert command to insert a template into the current window

F11	Executes the Execute DOS Command To Window command to run a DOS command and capture its output in a window

Shift+F11	Executes the Execute Launch Application command to launch a Windows application to run independently of PFE

Ctrl+F11	Executes the Execute DOS Prompt command to start a DOS session

MOVEMENT KEYS

For these keys, the default mapping is such that adding Shift to the combination causes a selection to be extended.

Note that where the Alt key is combined with either an arrow key, or one of Home, End, PgDn, PgUp, Ins or Del, you must use the keys in the extended key areas, and not those in the numeric keypad.

Up	Moves the caret up by one line

Shift+Up	Moves the caret up by one line, extending the selection

Down	Moves the caret down by one line

Shift+Down	Moves the caret down by one line, extending the selection

Left	Moves the caret left by one character

Shift+Left	Moves the caret left by one character, extending the selection

Ctrl+Left	Moves the caret left by one word

Ctrl+Shift+Left	Moves the caret left by one word, extending the selection

Right	Moves the caret right by one character

Shift+Right	Moves the caret right by one character, extending the selection

Ctrl+Right	Moves the caret right by one word

Ctrl+Shift+Right	Moves the caret right by one word, extending the selection

PgDn	Moves the caret down by one page

Shift+PgDn	Moves the caret down by one page, extending the selection

Ctrl+PgDn	Moves the caret to the start of the last line in the window

Ctrl+Shift+PgDn	Moves the caret to the start of the last line in the window, extending the selection

PgUp	Moves the caret up by one page

Shift+PgUp	Moves the caret up by one page, extending the selection

Ctrl+PgUp	Moves the caret to the start of the first line of the window

Ctrl+Shift+PgUp	Moves the caret to the start of the first line of the window, extending the selection

Home	Moves the caret to the start of the line

Shift+Home	Moves the caret to the start of the line, extending the selection

Ctrl+Home	Moves the caret to the start of the file

Ctrl+Shift+Home	Moves the caret to the start of the file, extending the selection

Alt+Home 	Moves the caret to the first non-white-space character in the current line

Alt+Shift+Home	Moves the caret to the first non-white-space character in the current line, extending the selection

End	Moves the caret to the end of the line

Shift+End	Moves the caret to the end of the line, extending the selection

Ctrl+End	Moves the caret to the end of the file

Ctrl+Shift+End	Moves the caret to the end of the file, extending the selection

CONTROL KEYS

Ctrl+B	Executes the Edit Text Match Brace command to move the caret to the brace character matching the one currently under it

Ctrl+Shift+B	Executes the Edit Text Match Brace Select command to move the caret to the brace character matching the one currently under it and highlight all the text between and including the brace characters

Ctrl+C	Executes the Edit Copy command to copy selected text to the clipboard

Ctrl+G	Executes the Edit Goto Line  command to move the caret to a specific line

Ctrl+H	Deletes the character to the left of the caret

Ctrl+I	Inserts a TAB character, or the required number of spaces to bring the caret to the next TAB stop, depending on whether the current window's Window Mode is set for hard or soft TABs.

Ctrl+K	Executes the Edit Delete To End Of Line command to delete everything from the caret position to the end of the line

Ctrl+Shift+K	Executes the Edit Delete Line command to delete the entire line that the caret is in

Ctrl+N	Executes the File New command to create a new, empty edit window

Ctrl+O	Executes the File Open command to open an existing file

Ctrl+Shift+O	Splits the current line at the position of the caret, leaving the caret unmoved

Ctrl+P	Executes the File Print command to print the file showing in the current window

Ctrl+Q	Executes the Edit Text Insert ASCII Code command to insert a character specified by its ASCII code number

Ctrl+S	Executes the File Save command to save the current file to disk

Ctrl+T	Executes the Edit Text Transpose Characters command to transpose the character under the caret with the one to its left

Ctrl+V	Executes the Edit Paste command to paste data from the clipboard into the current window

Ctrl+W	Executes the Window Select command to let you choose between many open windows

Ctrl+Shift+W 	Executes the Edit Text Widen Brace Select command to highlight all the text between and including the closest pair of brace characters that encompasses either the currently-highlighted text, or the character under the caret if no text is selected

Ctrl+X	Executes the Edit Cut command to cut selected text to the clipboard

Ctrl+Z	Executes the Edit Undo command to undo the last edit action

OTHER KEYS

Enter	Inserts a newline

BackSpace	Deletes the character to the left of the caret

Del	Deletes the character to the right of the caret

Shift+Del	Executes the Edit Cut command to cut selected text to the clipboard

Ins	Toggles the current window between Insert and Overwrite modes

Shift+Ins	Executes the Edit Paste command to paste data from the clipboard into the current window

Ctrl+Ins	Executes the Edit Copy command to copy selected text to the clipboard

Keypad 5	Cancels the current selection, removing the highlight

Tab	If smart tabbing is not active, inserts a TAB character, or the required number of spaces to bring the caret to the next TAB stop, depending on whether the current window's Window Mode is set for hard or soft TABs.

If smart tabbing is active, and text is selected, the key indents the lines containing the selection by one tab stop.

Shift+Tab	Undents the line containing the caret, or all the lines containing a selection, by one tab stop.


Table of Keys And Default Functions

These tables show you the functions that are by default mapped to certain keys. For a description of the action of each function, consult the functions dictionary

A descriptive list of the action of each key is in the Description Of Default Key Mappings section.

FUNCTION KEYS

KEY	Used Alone	With Shift	With Ctrl	With Ctrl+Shift	With Alt
F1	HelpContents	HelpScreenMenuHelp	HelpContextHelp
F2	EditFind	EditRepeatLastFind
F3	EditReplace	EditRepeatLastReplace
F4	TemplateFindMark	WindowTileHorizontal			FileExit
F5		WindowCascade	EditShowCaret
F6	TemplateInsertMark		WindowNext	WindowPrevious
F7	MacroPlayRecording	MacroStartRecording	MacroStopRecording
F8
F9	TemplateInsert
F10	SysSetMenuMode
F11	ExecDOSCommand	ExecLaunchApp	ExecDOSPrompt
F12

MOVEMENT KEYS

For these keys, the default mapping is such that adding Shift to the combination causes a selection to be extended.

Note that where keys are mapped in combinations including the Alt key, you must use the keys from the extended keyboard area, and not those in the numeric keypad

KEY	Used Alone	With Shift	With Ctrl	With Ctrl+Shift
Up	CaretUp	CaretUpSelect
Down	CaretDown	CaretDownSelect
Left	CaretLeft	CaretLeftSelect	CaretLeftWord	CaretLeftWordSelect
Right	CaretRight	CaretRightSelect	CaretRightWord	CaretRightWordSelect
PgUp	CaretPageUp	CaretPageUpSelect	CaretTopOfWindow	CaretTopOfWindowSelect
PgDn	CaretPageDown	CaretPageDownSelect	CaretBottomOfWindow	CaretBottomOfWindowSelect
Home	CaretStartOfLine	CaretStartOfLineSelect	CaretStartOfFile	CaretStartOfFileSelect
End	CaretEndOfLine	CaretEndOfLineSelect	CaretEndOfFile	CaretEndOfFileSelect
KEY	With Alt	With Alt+Shift
Home	CaretStartOfText	CaretStartOfTextSelect

CONTROL KEYS

KEY	Used Alone	With Shift
Ctrl+B	EditTextMatchBrace	EditTextMatchBraceSelect
Ctrl+C	EditCopy
Ctrl+G	EditGotoLine
Ctrl+H	EditDeleteBackwards
Ctrl+I	EditInsertTab
Ctrl+K	EditDeleteToEndOfLine	EditDeleteLine
Ctrl+N	FileNew
Ctrl+O	FileOpen	EditSplitLine
Ctrl+P	FilePrint
Ctrl+Q	EditTextInsertASCIICode
Ctrl+S	FileSave
Ctrl+T	EditTextTransposeCharacters
Ctrl+V	EditPaste
Ctrl+W	WindowSelect	EditTextWidenBraceSelect
Ctrl+X	EditCut
Ctrl+Z	EditUndo
Ctrl+1	MacroPlayMacro1	MacroPlayMacro11
Ctrl+2	MacroPlayMacro2	MacroPlayMacro12
Ctrl+3	MacroPlayMacro3	MacroPlayMacro13
Ctrl+4	MacroPlayMacro4	MacroPlayMacro14
Ctrl+5	MacroPlayMacro5	MacroPlayMacro15
Ctrl+6	MacroPlayMacro6	MacroPlayMacro16
Ctrl+7	MacroPlayMacro7	MacroPlayMacro17
Ctrl+8	MacroPlayMacro8	MacroPlayMacro18
Ctrl+9	MacroPlayMacro9	MacroPlayMacro19
Ctrl+0	MacroPlayMacro10	MacroPlayMacro20

OTHER KEYS

KEY	Used Alone	With Shift	With Ctrl	With Ctrl+Shift
Enter	EditNewline
BackSpace	EditDeleteBackwards
Del	EditDeleteForwards	EditCut
Ins	OptionsToggleInsertMode	EditPaste	EditCopy
Keypad 5	EditCancelSelection
Tab	EditInsertTab	EditTextUndent

Note that the behaviour of the TAB key, used alone, alters when smart tabbing is active and you have highlighted text in a selection.


The 16-Bit Edition of PFE uses an initialisation file called pfe.ini to record the values that should be carried over from one session to another, and to hold the customisation values you set with the "Startup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command. The values are common to all users of the computer.

By default the initialisation file is held in your Windows directory, but you can customise the location with the Options Preferences command.

The 32-Bit Edition of PFE records values in the Windows Registry, with each logged-on user of the computer having his or her own entirely private set of configuration details.

Within the registry, configuration data can be held in separate configuration sets, allowing each individual user to maintain multiple configurations for use in different work projects.


DDE Commands And Data Items

PFE can be controlled remotely by another application using a DDE link. PFE supports the standard DDE techniques, and can be used from any compliant application.

There are two ways of communicating with PFE. The application can send it commands, which cause PFE to take some action; or it request data items, which cause PFE to return it some information.

Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

DDE Commands

DDE Data Items

DDE Poke Items


DDE Commands

The DDE commands currently supported are listed below. For details of how to use a DDE link to control PFE, see Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

CaretBottomOfWindow(select)
Moves the caret to the start of the last line in the window, extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretDown(count,select)
Moves the caret down by count lines. If select is 1 the characters it moves over are selected and shown in reverse video; if it is 0 they are not and any outstanding selection is cancelled.

CaretEndOfLine(select)
Moves the caret to the end of the current line,  extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretEndOfFile(select)	Moves the caret to the end of the file, possibly extending a selection.

CaretHome(select)	Moves the caret to the start of the current line, extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretLeft(count,select)
Moves the caret left by count characters,  extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretLeftWord(count,select)
Moves the caret left by count words,  extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretRight(count,select)
Moves the caret right by count characters,  extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretRightWord(count,select)
Moves the caret right by count words,  extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretStartOfFile(select)
Moves the caret to the start of the file, possibly extending a selection.

CaretTopOfWindow(select)
Moves the caret to the start of the first line in the window, extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

CaretUp(count,select)
Moves the caret up by count lines, extending the selection if select is 1, and not extending it if select is 0.

ComeToForeground()
Makes PFE the active application and brings its window to the foreground. If the main window is iconic, it will first be restored.

EditCopy()	Copies the currently selected text to the clipboard.

EditCut()	Deletes the currently selected text, copying it to the clipboard.

EditDeleteBackwards(count)
Deletes the count characters to the left of the caret.

EditDeleteForwards(count)
Deletes the count characters to the right of the caret.

EditGotoLine(position,select)
Moves the caret to a position in the file specified by position. This may be a simple line number, or an absolute or relative file position specification. If select is "1", the text from the starting position to the start of the target line will be highlighted.

EditFind("string",options)
Searches the current window for the specified string. Within string, special characters are represented with the same notation as used in the dialog started by the Edit Find  command.

The options parameter is a numeric value that specifies how the search operation is to be carried out, made up by summing any values from this list:

1	Search is to be case sensitive

2	Search in the reverse direction

4	Highlight the matching string

8	Highlight all text from the starting position of the caret to the end of the matching string

The Result data item will return "OK" if the search string was found, and "Error" if it was not.

EditInsert("string")
Inserts the quoted string into the current file at the position of the caret. Within the string, the characters "\f" represent a Form Feed, "\n" represent a line break and "\t" a tab character. To insert a "\" character, specify it as "\\", to insert a quote character, specify it as two consecutive quote characters. The notation "\xnn", where "nn" is two hexadecimal digits, allows you to specify an arbitrary character code (the null value "\x00" is not permitted).

EditPaste()	Causes the contents of the Windows clipboard (provided that it is in CF_TEXT format) to be pasted into the current file at the position of the caret. You can also use a DDE Poke operation to paste data.

EditSelectLine()	Selects all the characters in the line containing the caret. The caret is moved to the start of the line and the window is scrolled if necessary to make this visible.

FileAbandon()	Closes the current file. If the file has been altered, unsaved changes will be discarded.

FileClose()	Closes the current file. If the file has been altered, the user will see a dialog box asking him if he wishes to save the data.

FileInsert("filename")	Inserts the specified file into the current file at the position of the caret. If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory. If the filename is omitted, PFE will show a dialog box to ask the user to supply it.

FileName("filename")	Changes the name of the file associated with the current window. If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory. This command will fail if the current window contains a template.

FileNew()	Creates a new window for an un-named file.

FileOpen("filename",use_saved_position)

Opens the specified file for editing. If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory. You can open several files at once with a DDE Poke operation using the item "OpenFiles".

The filename you specify in this command may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters.

If use_saved_position is omitted, or is 0, PFE will open the new window using a default position and size, and will position the caret at the start of the first line. If the value is given as 1, PFE will examine the list of Most-Recently-Used files to see if the file has been used before. If it has, the window will be opened at the position and size it last had, and the caret will be positioned where it was in the file when it was closed.

FilePrint()	Prints the current file. PFE will show the dialog used in the File Print command.

FilePrintAll()	Prints all open files. PFE will show the dialog used in the File Print All command.

FileSave()	Writes the current file to disk, providing it has been changed since it was last saved. If the file is currently un-named, the user will see a dialog asking him for the file name it is to be saved under.

FileSaveAs("filename")	Writes the current file to disk, changing its name in the process.  If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory.

FileView("filename")	Opens the specified file in read-only mode.  If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory.

The filename you specify in this command may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters.

FileWrite("filename")	Writes the current file to disk with the specified filename, whether or not it has been changed. The name by which the file is known to PFE, as shown in the window caption, is not altered. If the filename is not an absolute pathname, it is treated as being relative to PFE's current working directory.

WindowActivate(id)	Activates the window with the specified id value. The id is a numeric string, returned by querying the data item WindowID when the desired window is current.


DDE Data Items

The supported items that you can request data from over a DDE link are listed below. For details of how to use a DDE link to control PFE, see Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

Topic "Editor"

ColumnNumber	Gives you the number of the text column containing the caret in the current file, or "Error" if there is no file open. The leftmost column is numbered 1.

FileChanged	Tells you whether the current file has been altered since it was last saved. The reply will be the string "Yes" if the file has changed; and "No" if either the file has not changed, or there is no current file.

FileName	If the current window contains a file that has an associated file name, the reply will be that name. If there is no current window, or the window has no associated file name, it will be the string "Error".

FileWritable	Tells you whether the current file can be written or not (i.e. that read-only mode has not been set). The reply will be "Yes" or "No", or "Error" if no file is open.

LineNumber	Gives you the number of the line in the current file containing the caret, or "Error" if there is no file open. Depending on the size of the file, the number may exceed the capacity of a 16-Bit integer.

Result	Gives you the result of the last command executed over the DDE link. The reply will be one of the strings "OK" or "Error" if a result is available, and "Busy" if the server is currently processing a DDE link command. The results of commands executed from the keyboard, menu or toolbar cannot be read by this method.

Status 	Gives you the current status of the DDE server. The reply will be one of the strings "Ready" and "Busy".

VersionString	Gives you the version identification of PFE as a string in the form "x.yy.zzz" as shown in the dialog started by the Help About command.

WindowID	Gives you the unique id number of the current window as a numeric string. This id value can be used to identify the window for the whole of its life; id values are never re-used in any given PFE session. If no window exists, the string "Error" is returned.

WindowTitle	Gives you the string that is the caption of the current window

Topic "System"

Formats 	A list of the clipboard formats supported by PFE's DDE server. This will be the string "TEXT"

SysItems	A list of items supported by PFE under the "System" topic, separated by tab characters

Topics	A list of the topics supported by PFE, separated by tab characters

Status 	The current status of the DDE server. The reply will be one of the strings "Ready" and "Busy".


DDE Poke Items

The DDE Poke items currently supported are listed below. For details of how to use a DDE link to control PFE, see Controlling PFE Over A DDE Link

All DDE Poke operations should use the relevant DDE service name and the topic "Editor". The data should be passed in a shareable global data segment.

OpenFilesEx	This topic allows you to open a number of files for editing in one operation. The data should contain the name of the default directory to be used for each file, terminated by a null byte (ASCII code 0x00) and followed by a list of filenames, each one itself terminated by a null byte. An extra null byte should mark the end of the list.

If a file name in the list does not contain a directory path, the default directory string will be prepended to it; otherwise it is used exactly as supplied.

The file names given in the list may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters and spaces.

ViewFilesEx	This topic allows you to open a number of files in read-only mode in one operation. The details are as for the OpenFilesEx topic above.

Paste	This topic allows you to paste data into the current window at the position of the caret. The data should be in CF_TEXT clipboard format, with the end of each line marked by a CR-LF byte pair, and a final null byte (ASCII code 0x00) terminating the block.

Under Windows 3.1x, you may not paste more than 64 kilobytes of data in one operation.

For compatibility with previous versions of PFE, topics OpenFile and ViewFile are also supported. These have the same functionality as OpenFileEx and ViewFileEx, but take a different data format - each component in the data block is separated from the next by a single space, rather than a null byte. Because of this, these topics cannot be used to open files whose names contain spaces. New applications should use OpenFileEx and ViewFileEx.

DDE Poke operations are carried out asynchronously to the client application. To determine whether they succeeded or failed, the client must request the data from the item "Result" in the "Editor" topic.


Language Awareness

PFE contains some awareness of the format of programming languages, to help you when writing program sources. Currently only the C language is supported.

To select language awareness, you need to specify the language in the window modes for the window you are editing in. You can specify that any file with a given file type should use a particular language automatically, or you can change the current window's language at any time.

When editing files that have language type set to "C", PFE provides these facilities:

-	A # character typed in an otherwise empty line is always moved to column 1

-	A closing } brace typed in an otherwise empty line is moved to the same column as the matching preceding opening brace {, providing that this is the only character in its line. In locating the opening brace, characters within string delimiters, comment delimiters or in pre-processor directives will be ignored.

The Edit Text Match Brace, Edit Text Match Brace Select and Edit Text Widen Brace Select commands are also set to operate using opening braces from the set { [ and (, and closing braces from the set } ] and ).


The Default Modes Dialog

This dialog allows you edit the default modes that PFE applies when you open files and create windows, and to configure the filename patterns and mode values that make up your mode groups

To define a set of default modes, take the following steps:

1	If you want to edit your mode groups or define a new one, click the Edit Mode Groups button. This starts a dialog that lets you configure the groups

2	Select what you want to set the default modes for:

-	For files whose names match a pattern in one of your mode groups, click the Files whose extension is in mode group button and select the mode group from the list below it

-	For a file whose names do not match a pattern in any of your mode groups, click the Files whose extension is not in any mode group button.

-	For windows created to edit templates, click the Windows showing templates button

-	For windows created to hold the output of DOS commands run by the Execute DOS Command with Capture command, click the Windows showing DOS command output button

-	For windows created with the File New command, click the Windows created with the File New command button

3	Click the Edit modes button to start the dialog that allows you to configure the modes for the selected object

4	Repeat the above steps as often as you wish, then click the Close button to exit this dialog


The Edit Mode Groups Dialog

This dialog allows you to create, delete and edit your mode groups, which you use to set default file and window modes

Each mode group consists of a set of up 16 filename patterns, such as "*.c", "readme.*" or "makefile". The patterns can contain the normal DOS wildcard characters "?" and "*". Associated with each group of patterns are set of modes, which PFE will apply as the initial settings whenever you open a file whose filename (minus the directory path) matches one of the patterns specified in the group.

You can define up to 32 mode groups in total. When PFE searches the mode groups to see if it can match the name of the file being opened, it looks at the mode groups in the order that they appear in the dialog; within each mode group, it checks the filename against the patterns in the order you have defined them. You can use this ordered search, and the fact that patterns can be wildcarded, to achieve complex discrimination patterns between your files.

Each mode group you define also has a name, which you use to specify the group when you are editing the actual modes associated with it. You can use up to 32 characters in the name, and so can make it a meaningful string such as "C Source Files" or "All text files"

Defining a new mode group

To define a new mode group, take the following steps:

1	Click the New button to start a dialog that allows you to define the mode group name and the filename patterns you want it to contain. The new mode group willbe added at the end of the seearch order.

2	If you wish, use the Move up and Move down buttons to position the new mode group where you want it in the search order

Editing an existing mode group

To change the name of an existing group, or modify the filename patterns it contains, take the following steps:

1 	Select the mode group name in the list

2	Click the Edit button to start a dialog that allows you to change the details of the mode group

Deleting an existing mode group

To delete an existing mode group, take the following steps:

1	Select the mode group name in the list

2	Click the Delete button

Re-Ordering mode groups

When you open a file, PFE will search for the extension in the mode groups in the order that they appear in this dialog panel. If you want to change the order of the mode groups you have defined, take the following steps:

1	Select the name of the mode group whose position you want to change in the list

2	Click the Move up button to move it one place up in the list, or the Move down button to move it one place down

Any changes you make to your mode groups will not be stored until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. Until that time, you can abandon any changes that you don't want to keep by clicking on the Cancel button.


The New Mode Group Dialog

This dialog allows you to create a new mode group.

Steps

1	In the Mode group name edit control at the bottom of the dialog, type the name you want to use for the mode group. You can use up to 32 characters.

2	In the Filename Patterns edit control, type the filename patterns that this mode group will contain. You can type up to 16 patterns, separated by spaces, commas or semicolons.

Patterns may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters "?" and "*", which will match exactly one, and any number of characters respectively

Note that the directory path part of a filename is not used in a comparison

3	Click the OK button to add this new mode group to those you've already defined. The new group will be placed at the end of the search order


The Edit Mode Group Dialog

This dialog allows you to change the details of an existing mode group.

Steps

1	In the Mode group name edit control at the bottom of the dialog, type the name you want to use for the mode group. You can use up to 32 characters.

2	In the Filename Patterns edit control, type the filename patterns that this mode group will contain. You can type up to 16 patterns, separated by spaces, commas or semicolons.

Patterns may contain the normal DOS wildcard characters "?" and "*", which will match exactly one, and any number of characters respectively

Note that the directory path part of a filename is not used in a comparison

3	Click the OK button to change the details of the mode group to those you've just typed.


 The Edit Current Modes Dialog

This dialog lets you set the modes that apply to the current window, and the file that's showing in it.

The dialog box contains two major areas. To the left, there is a list box that allows you to select the category of modes you want to configure, and buttons that apply to the process of changing all the options. To the right is an area whose appearance will change depending on the category of modes you're working with.

Steps

1	Select the category of modes you want to configure from the list box on the left. The appearance of the panel on the right will change as you select the category, to show you the options that are relevant to it

2	In the panel on the right, set the various options as you want them. The individual panels are described in detail in the following help screens

3	If you want to apply the values you have changed and save them to the initialisation file, but carry on making further changes, click the Apply Now button.

4	If you want to apply the values you have changed, save them to the initialisation file, and close the dialog, click the OK button.

5	To close the dialog and abandon any changes you have made, click the Cancel button

Depending on what the current window contains, some of the available panels will not be appropriate and will not appear. The full set of panels are:

Display	What is displayed, such as line numbers

File Properties	Properties relating to the file being shown in the window, rather than the window itself

Input	How PFE handles input to the window

Language Awareness	What language awareness should be used for the window

Saving	What actions PFE should take saving the file in the current window

Print Defaults	What default values should be assumed when printing the current window

Text Colours	What colours should be used in the current window

Text Formatting	Text layout options such as tab size


The Edit Current Modes Display Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls what is displayed in the current window.

-	Check the Show line numbers box to have PFE display the line number of each line in the window on the left side of the window

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Current Modes File Properties Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls some properties relating to the file displayed in the current window.

The Editing options area contains options related to how you edit files:

-	Check the File is read only in all windows box to have the file set into read only mode. You will not be able to change the file in any window showing it until you change the setting again, either with this command, or by double-clicking the appropriate area of the status bar

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.

Changing options in this panel will affect all windows showing the same file, and not just the current window


The Edit Current Modes Input Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls how PFE acts when you type on the keyboard into the current window.

-	Check the Auto-indent new lines box to have PFE indent each line to the same level as the previous one whenever you press the Enter key

-	Check the Strip trailing spaces when newline pressed box to have PFE remove any trailing spaces to the right of a  line whenever you press the Enter key to start a new line

-	Check the Overtype existing text box to have PFE replace characters already in the file with the ones you type, rather than have your typing inserted into what is already there.  Changing this option is equivalent to typing the Ins key on the keyboard, or double-clicking the left mouse button over the appropriate area of the status bar

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Current Modes Language Awareness Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls the language set on the current window. This affects some aspects of how the text is displayed and how some commands operate.

-	Select the language which you wish PFE to use from the Language list. Currently the languages supported are "C" and "TeX"; to turn off all language related options, set the value to "(none)"

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Current Modes Print Defaults Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command control the default settings of various options related to printing from the current window. These values are used in the dialog shown by the File Print command.

-	Check the Print page headers box to select that each page of printed output should have a header showing the name and modification date of the file, and a page number, by default

-	Check the Wrap long lines box to select that lines too long to be printed on the page are folded and printed on as many lines as are required, rather than being truncated

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Current Modes Saving Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls how PFE saves the file showing in the current window to disk.

-	Check the Use UNIX convention (LF) for end of line box to have PFE save the file to disk using a single Line Feed (LF) character at the end of a line. This will produce a file that is in the format generally used by the UNIX Operating System; if the box is not checked, the file will be saved in the normal DOS format, with the end of each line marked with a Carriage Return (CR) and a Line Feed (LF) character pair

-	Check the Make backup of original file box to have PFE make a copy of any existing file on disk with the same name before saving commences. You can configure system-wide backup options with the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command

-	Check the Terminate disk file with Ctrl+Z box if you want PFE to ensure that the file on disk ends with a Ctrl+Z character, adding one if necessary. This option is needed only if you need to write files in a format compatible with antiquated programs that expect files to use MS-DOS version 1 conventions.

-	Check the Do not add extra end-of-line after data box if you want the data saved to the file to end with the last character typed, rather than with a CR-LF character pair marking the end of the last line

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.

Changing options in this panel will affect all windows showing the same file, and not just the current window


The Edit Current Modes Text Colours Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls the text and background colours used in the current window.

-	Click the Use Colours set by control panel button if you want the colours to be those you have defined with Control Panel

-	Click the Use specific colours button if you want to specify your own colours. The list box below this button shows you the names of the various objects you can configure; you should take the following steps

1	Double click the name of the object whose colour you want to change in the list box, or select it and click the Change object colour button

2	This starts the standard colour selection dialog which allows you to choose the colour you want

3	Repeat the steps above for the other objects you want to change. The samples at the top of the panel show you the effect of your choices

Note that although the colour selection dialog allows you to choose dithered colours, PFE will not use these, but will instead use the nearest solid colour. The sample areas will show you the exact background colour you have specified at the left and right edges; the text and the background immediately behind the text will show the colours that will actually be used.

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Current Modes Text Formatting Panel

This panel of the dialog shown by the Options Current Modes command controls how text in the current window is formatted.

The Tabs area lets you control how TABs are inserted and appear

-	Click the Tab with tab characters button to have PFE insert a single TAB character (ASCII code 9) when you press the Tab key. This mode of operation is often referred to as using hard tabs

-	Click the Tab with space characters button to have PFE insert as many SPACE characters as are required to reach the next tab position when you press the Tab key. This mode of operation is often referred to as using soft tabs

-	Set the width of a tab stop by entering the value in the Tab stop every n characters edit control. You can set any value between 2 and 16. Note that tabs can set only at regular intervals.

Note that changing how tabs are inserted affects only how the Tab key is handled in the future. Any TAB characters already in the file are not changed to spaces; nor are sequences of spaces condensed into TAB characters.

The Text Wrapping area controls aspects of how PFE wraps text when you reach the right hand margin

-	Check the Enabled box to activate text wrapping

-	Enter the column position of the right hand margin in the At column edit control. You can select any value greater than 16.

Note that text wrapping occurs only when you type at the end of a line. PFE does not provide word-processor type text reflowing, where text in the current and following lines is repositioned wherever you type. However, the Edit Text Reformat and Edit Text Reformat Paragraph commands allow you to reformat existing text to fit the wrap margin.

Options set in this panel are not applied until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Dialog

This dialog lets you edit modes that apply to the mode group or window type selected by the parent dialog run by the Options Default Modes command.

The dialog box contains two major areas. To the left, there is a list box that allows you to select the category of modes you want to configure, and buttons that apply to the process of changing all the options. To the right is an area whose appearance will change depending on the category of modes you're working with.

Steps

1	Select the category of modes you want to configure from the list box on the left. The appearance of the panel on the right will change as you select the category, to show you the options that are relevant to it

2	In the panel on the right, set the various options as you want them. The individual panels are described in detail in the following help screens

3	If you want to apply the values you have changed and save them to the initialisation file, but carry on making further changes, click the Apply Now button.

4	If you want to apply the values you have changed, save them to the initialisation file, and close the dialog, click the OK button.

5	To close the dialog and abandon any changes you have made, click the Cancel button

Not all the various panels that make up the dialog are appropriate for all circumstances, and depending on that object you selected in the parent dialog, some may not appear. The full set of panels available are:

Display	What is displayed in windows showing the file by default, such as line numbers

File Properties	Various properties relating to the file, such as whether it is in read-only mode

Input	How PFE handles input to windows showing the file by default

Language Awareness	What language awareness should be used by default in windows

Loading	What actions PFE should take when loading a file whose filename matches a pattern defined in a mode group

Print Defaults	What default values should be assumed when printing the current window

Saving	What actions PFE should take saving a file whose filename matches a pattern defined in a mode group

Text Colours	What colours should be used by default in windows showing the file

Text Formatting	Text layout options such as tab size


The Edit Default Modes Display Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of various options related to what is displayed in windows.

-	Check the Show line numbers box to have PFE display the line number of each line in the window on the left side of the window

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes File Properties Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of some properties relating to the files displayed in windows.

The Editing options area contains options related to how you edit files:

-	Check the File is read only in all windows box to have the file loaded in read only mode. You will not be able to change the file in any window showing it until you change the setting with the Options Current Modes command, or by double-clicking the appropriate area of the status bar

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Input Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog sets default values for various options affecting how PFE acts when you type on the keyboard.

-	Check the Auto-indent new lines box to have PFE indent each line to the same level as the previous one whenever you press the Enter key

-	Check the Strip trailing spaces when newline pressed box to have PFE remove any trailing spaces to the right of a  line whenever you press the Enter key to start a new line

-	Check the Overtype existing text box to have PFE replace characters already in the file with the ones you type, rather than have your typing inserted into what is already there.

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Language Awareness Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values related to language awareness.

-	Select the language which you wish PFE to use from the Language list. Currently the languages supported are "C" and "TeX"; to turn off all language related options, set the value to "(none)"

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Loading Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of options related to how PFE loads files.

-	Check the Discard any Ctrl+Z at end of data box to have PFE automatically remove any Ctrl+Z character at the end of the file. This option does not affect the copy of the file on disk in any way. By default, PFE will load all characters in the file as they occur.

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Print Defaults Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog control the default settings of various options related to printing. These values are used in the dialog shown by the File Print command.

-	Check the Print page headers box to select that each page of printed output should have a header showing the name and modification date of the file, and a page number, by default

-	Check the Wrap long lines box to select that lines too long to be printed on the page are folded and printed on as many lines as are required, rather than being truncated

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Saving Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of options related to how PFE saves files to disk.

-	Check the Use UNIX convention (LF) for end of line box to have PFE save the file to disk using a single Line Feed (LF) character at the end of a line. This will produce a file that is in the format generally used by the UNIX Operating System; if the box is not checked, the file will be saved in the normal DOS format, with the end of each line marked with a Carriage Return (CR) and a Line Feed (LF) character pair

-	Check the Make backup of original file box to have PFE make a copy of any existing file on disk with the same name before saving commences. You can configure system-wide backup options with the "Backup" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command

-	Check the Terminate disk file with Ctrl+Z box if you want PFE to ensure that the file on disk ends with a Ctrl+Z character, adding one if necessary. This option is needed only if you need to write files in a format compatible with antiquated programs that expect files to use MS-DOS version 1 conventions.

-	Check the Do not add extra end-of-line after data box if you want the data saved to the file to end with the last character typed, rather than with a CR-LF character pair marking the end of the last line

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Text Colours Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of the text and background colours used when showing a file.

-	Click the Use Colours set by control panel button if you want the colours to be those you have defined with Control Panel

-	Click the Use specific colours button if you want to specify your own colours. The list box below this button shows you the names of the various objects you can configure; you should take the following steps

1	Double click the name of the object whose colour you want to change in the list box, or select it and click the Change object colour button

2	This starts the standard colour selection dialog which allows you to choose the colour you want

3	Repeat the steps above for the other objects you want to change. The samples at the top of the panel show you the effect of your choices

Note that although the colour selection dialog allows you to choose dithered colours, PFE will not use these, but will instead use the nearest solid colour. The sample areas will show you the exact background colour you have specified at the left and right edges; the text and the background immediately behind the text will show the colours that will actually be used.

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Default Modes Text Formatting Panel

This panel of the Edit Default Modes dialog controls the default values of various options related to how text in windows is formatted.

The Tabs area lets you control how tabs are inserted and appear

-	Click the Tab with tab characters button to have PFE insert a single TAB character (ASCII code 9) when you press the Tab key. This mode of operation is often referred to as using hard tabs

-	Click the Tab with space characters button to have PFE insert as many SPACE characters as are required to reach the next tab position when you press the Tab key. This mode of operation is often referred to as using soft tabs

-	Set the width of a tab stop by entering the value in the Tab stop every n characters edit control. You can set any value between 2 and 16. Note that tabs can set only at regular intervals.

The Text Wrapping area controls aspects of how PFE wraps text when you reach the right hand margin

-	Check the Enabled box to activate text wrapping

-	Enter the column position of the right hand margin in the At column edit control. You can select any value greater than 16.

Note that text wrapping occurs only when you type at the end of a line. PFE does not provide word-processor type text reflowing, where text in the current and following lines is repositioned wherever you type.

Options set in this panel are not made permanent until you click the Apply Now or OK buttons. To cancel any changes you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Edit Goto Line Dialog

This dialog lets you move to a specified position in the file showing in the current window. You can move to either an absolute position in the file; or you can specify the destination as relative to where the caret current lies.

Steps

1	Enter the place within the file you want to move to in the Destination box. The dialog shows you the number of the last line in the current file, and of the line the caret is now in, for information.

If you type a simple numeric value, the caret will be moved to the left-hand side of the line with that number. You can enter a complete file position specification if you want to move to a specific character within a specific line, or to move relative to the current caret location.

2	If you want to highlight all the text from where the caret now is and where it will move to, check the Extend Selection box

3	Click the OK button to go to the specified location in the file


The Edit Text Insert ASCII Code Dialog

This dialog lets you insert a character specified by its ASCII code number into the current file at the position of the caret

Steps

1	Specify the character you wish to insert.

To insert a standard control character such as ESC or Ctrl+Z, click on the Control Char button and select the mnemonic of the control character you want from the list to its right. If you wish to set the top bit (bit 7) of the character, check the Top Bit Set box

To insert a character with an arbitrary ASCII code, click on the ASCII code button and type the code as a decimal number in the edit control to its right. You can enter any number between 1 and 255.

2	Click the OK button to insert the character with the specified ASCII code at the position of the caret


The File Change Directory Dialog

This dialog allows you to change PFE's current working directory

Steps

1	Type the pathname of the directory you want to make the current working directory into the edit control, or select it from the list of the directories you've previously visited with this command.

You can click the browse button to the right of the list to start a dialog that lets you browse your disks to find the directory if you prefer

2	Click the OK button to make the specified directory your current working directory


 The File Print Dialog

This dialog lets you print some or all of the current file on your currently selected printer

Steps

1	To use a different printer from the one shown at the top of the dialog box; to change the printer font; or to change the page margins, click the Setup Printer button

2	Decide what part of the file you want to print by using the Print area:

Click Whole File (the default) to print everything

Click Selected Text to print exactly the text that is highlighted. This option will not be available if you don't have any text highlighted

Click Line Range, and fill in the start and end line numbers, to print a range of lines. You can use the words "start" and "end" to represent the first and last lines of the file

3	If you want to use different print options from those set by the window modes of the current window, click the boxes in the Options area:

If Number Lines is checked, lines are printed with numbering

If Wrap Long Lines is checked, lines too long to fit the page are folded rather than being truncated

If Page Headers is checked, each page starts with a header giving the file name and other information

If Print two pages per sheet is checked, PFE will print two pages of the files side by side on each sheet of paper. This will have the best appearance if you set the printer to be in landscape mode


The File Print Setup Dialog

This dialog lets you specify which printer PFE is to print files to, and to configure the device.

The appearance of the dialog will change depending on whether you are running the 16-Bit Edition or the 32-Bit Edition, and on the environment you are working in. However, in all cases you will be able to:

1	Select the printer to be used.

By default, every PFE session will use the system default printer. This dialog will allow you to change this to use any other device configured on your system.

2	Select the paper orientation; you will be able to choose between landscape and portrait modes.

3	Select the paper source and size if the printer supports different options.

4	Configure the printer itself; to do this click on the Properties or Setup button

The values that you set in this dialog are remembered for the rest of the PFE session; however a new session will again default to printing on the system default printer.

Use the File Page Setup command to set details of the printer font to be used, the margins, the page ordering, and whether you want to print one or two pages of data on each sheet of paper.


The File Page Setup Dialog

This dialog lets you set up the appearance of a printed page. You can set different values for each of the printers configured on your system. The settings will be remembered and used whenever you print to the same device.

The dialog lets you select:

-	The orientation of the paper

-	The font that is to be used

-	Whether you want to leave margins at any of the edges of the page

-	Whether you want to print one or two pages of file data on each sheet of paper. You can choose to order the pages serially, or so that you can fold the sheets to make a booklet

-	Whether you want to print the pages in forward order or reverse order

-	Whether any page headers you select with the File Print command are set out against a shaded background or not

-	The exact number of lines to print per page, and the exact number of characters to print in each line

Steps

1	Select the page orientation you want to use in the Orientation area: click on Portrait if you want the paper to be tall and narrow; or on Landscape to use it short and wide.

Note that your printer may not support Landscape orientation; if it doesn't, you won't be able to click the corresponding button.

-	The page layout options that place two pages side-by-side on a sheet of paper are available only if you click on the Landscape button.

-	Changing the orientation of the paper may affect the range of fonts that are available

2	Select whether you want to print on one side of the paper (known as simplex mode), or on both sides (duplex mode), in the Print on area.

-	Click on One side only to print on one side of each sheet of paper. If you have a printer that cannot support duplex printing, this will be the only option that is available.

-	Click on Both sides, long edge binding to print on both sides of each sheet of paper, arranging things so that the long sides of sheets match up. This option will only be available if your printer can support duplex printing.

-	Click on Both sides, short edge binding to print on both sides of each sheet of paper, arranging things so that the short sides of sheets match up. This option will only be available if your printer can support duplex printing.

Note that it will possible to select one of the duplex options on a printer that supports it, whether or not the printer is fitted with suitable hardware. It's up to you match your selection to the physical capabilities of the device in this case.

3	Select the order in which you wish PFE to print the pages in the Print sheets in area.

If you have a printer such as an inkjet, where paper is stacked face-upwards in the output tray, you can select Reverse order to print the pages from last to first; the resulting stack of paper will then contain the pages in the correct reading order.

If you have a device such as a laser printer, and the output tray you've selected stacks the paper face downwards, you can select the default case of Normal order to print the pages from first to last; again, the resulting stack of paper will contain the pages in the correct reading order.

4	Select the page layout that you want to use by choosing an option in the Page layout area.

-	Click on One page per sheet side to print one page of the file on one side of paper. This is the default option

-	Click on Two pages per sheet side to print two pages of the file side-by-side on one side of paper. This option is available only for landscape orientation.

PFE will arrange the pages so that they appear in the correct order on the paper without folding

-	Click on Booklet to print two pages of the file side-by-side on one side of paper, but with the pages arranged so that they appear in the correct order when the paper is folded to make a booklet. This option is available only if you have selected either the Both sides, short edge binding or One side only options in the Print on area.

Clicking the Configure booklet button next to this options starts a dialog that lets you configure the appearance of the booklet.

5	If you want PFE to print page headers against a shaded gray background on each page, check Print page headers in shaded box. If the option is unchecked, PFE prints headers as black text without shading, and if you are using a slow printer, you will find that pages print noticeably faster. (Note that the dialog started by the File Print command is used to select whether headers are printed or not).

6	The Margins area shows you how much space is left at the top, bottom, left and right edges of each sheet of paper when you print; and the "centre" value indicates how much space is left between adjacent pages when you print two pages side-by-side in landscape orientation.

If you want to alter the margins, click the Configure margins button to start the configuration dialog

7	The Printer font area gives you details of the font that is currently selected for printing. You will see the font name, point size and other characteristics, and also an indication of how many lines and columns will appear if you use it.

The line and column numbers are shown for the two cases of printing with headers on each page, and with no headers; whether you actually print headers is determined in the printing dialog. The next step below shows you how to limit the number of lines on a page, and the number of characters on a line, to a smaller value of your choice.

Note that the values show you the size of a page of file text. If you've specified a layout option that gives you two pages side-by-side on a sheet, each page of text will contain the number of lines and columns shown.

If you wish, click the Select font button to choose the font that you want to use.

Note that some printers support different sets of fonts depending on whether they are printing in portrait or landscape modes. If you change the option you select in the Orientation area, or change the paper orientation in the printer's own setp dialog, check that the font you intend to use is still available.

8	If you want to print fewer lines on each page, or fewer characters in each line, than the maximum possible with your chosen font - for example, you might want to print exactly 66 lines on a page, even if the font allowed 87 lines - click on the Limit page size button to run the dialog that allows you to configure the values to your requirements.

You can also click on this button and run the dialog if you've previously set a limit to the number of lines and characters and now want to remove it.

9	Click on OK to record the options you have selected. PFE will automatically use these settings every time you print to the same device.


The Configure Booklet Dialog

This dialog allows you to configure how PFE prints a file as a booklet.

Booklets are printed in landscape mode, with two pages of the file arranged side-by-side on each sheet of paper. As with a normal bound book, the sheets of paper making up a booklet are grouped in signatures. PFE orders the pages of text so that if you lay all the pages of a signature in a stack and fold the entire set, they appear in the correct reading order.

By default, PFE makes up signatures containing a maximum of 4 sheets of paper. To change this:

Steps

1	Enter the maximum number of sheets of paper you wish a signature to contain into the edit control. You can select any number between 1 and 16

2	Click on OK to record the new value.


The Configure Page Margins Dialog

This dialog allows you to set the width of the margins that PFE will use when printing with the currently selected printer.

You can define margins for the four outer edges of a sheet of paper, at the top, bottom, left and right respectively. You can also define a centre margin, which is used to separate pages of text when you choose to print two pages side by side on a sheet of paper.

Steps

1	In the Measure margins in area, click either the Inches or the Centimetres button to choose the units of measurement you prefer

Note that if you change from one unit of measurement to the other and then back, you may find that the values have altered slightly in the final decimal place. This is because the conversion introduces slight rounding errors.

2	Enter the margin values you want in the five edit controls in the Current values area. You can specify each margin as a decimal number with up to two digits after the decimal point; each margin can be in the range of 0.00 to 6.00 inches, or 0.00 to 15.24 centimetres.

3	Click on OK to record your new values.


The Limit Page Size Dialog

This dialog allows you to specify the exact number of lines that you wish PFE to print on each page of output, and the exact number of characters that can be printed on each line.

Steps

1	In the Page Width area, click on Print as many characters in each line as will fit if you don't want to set a limit yourself, but are happy for PFE to make each line as long as possible with the font that you've chosen.

To set an explicit limit, click on the Print a maximum button, and enter the number of characters per line in the edit control. The value you choose can be any number greater than or equal to 16.

2 	In the Page Depth area, click on Print as many lines on each page as will fit if you don't want to set a limit yourself, but are happy for PFE to print as many lines as possible on each page with the font that you've chosen.

To set an explicit limit, click on the Print a maximum button, and enter the number of lines the edit control. The value you choose can be any number greater than or equal to 8.

When you print, PFE will examine any limits you've set:

-	If the number of lines you've requested for a page is less than the maximum possible number, PFE will restrict each page to containing no more than the number of lines you've set.

-	If the number of characters you've requested for a line is less than the maximum possible number, PFE will restrict each line to containing no more than the number of characters you've set.


The Template Create File Dialog

This dialog allows you to create a new, empty template file that you can use to store templates.

A tenplate file must have a file type of ".tpl"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to create the template file in; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the template file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to create the macro library

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to create the template file in

2	Type the name of the template file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to create the template file

When you click on OK, PFE will create and initialise the template file on your disk. It will then attach the template file, bringing it into memory so that you can use it immediately.

About Templates


The Template Edit Dialog

This dialog allows you to edit a template contained in a template file. You must first have attached the template file, either automatically or with the Template Attach File command.

Steps

1	Select the template file containing the template you want to edit from the Template Files list. As you select a file, the list of templates it holds will appear in the Template Names list.

2	Select the name of the template to edit from the Template Names list

3	Click the OK button to edit the template and close the dialog

PFE opens a new edit window and copies the contents of the template into it for you to change as you require.

When you've finished amending the template, you can update the in-memory copy of the template file with the Template Store command, then save the changed template file to disk with the Template Save File command.

About Templates


The Template Store As Dialog

This dialog allows you to store a template that you're editing into any attached template file, giving it a new name in the process.

Steps

1	Select the template file into which you want to store the template from the Template Files list on the left. The list of templates already in this template file will be updated.

2	Type the name you want to give the template into the Template Name edit control on the right, or select the name of an existing template. A template name can be up to 16 characters long, and may contain spaces.

3	Click the OK button to store the template in the in-memory copy of the template file, under the new name, and close the dialog.

If the name you're using is that of an existing template, PFE will ask you to confirm that you really want to overwrite it.

Note that this operation changes only the in-memory copy of the template file. The file on disk will not be updated until you use the  Template Save File command.

About Templates


The Template Delete Dialog

This dialog allows you to delete one or more templates from a template file.  You must first have attached the template file, either automatically or with the Template Attach File command.

Steps

1	Select the template file containing the templates you want to delete from the Template Files list. As you select a file, the list of templates it holds will appear in the Template Names list.

2	Select the name of the templates to delete from the Template Names list. You can use Ctrl to add names to those selected, and Shift to select a range of names. You can also click and drag over a range of names.

3	Click the Delete button to delete the templates from the in-memory copy of the template file and close the dialog. To update the template file on disk, you need then to use the Template Save File command.

About Templates


The Template Detach File Dialog

This dialog allows you to detach one or more attached template files, freeing main memory, when you no longer require them

Steps

1	Select one or more template files from the list of those attached. You can use the Ctrl key to add files to the selection; or the Shift key to extend a selection. You can also select multiple files by clicking and dragging.

2	Click the OK button to detach the template files and close the dialog. If you've changed any of the templates contained in a template file, you'll be asked if you want to save the changes to disk or to discard them.

Once you've detached a template file, you can't use the templates it contains until you attach it again.

You can't detach a template file if you're currently editing any template that it contains.

About Templates


The Template Save File Dialog

This dialog allows you to save changes that you've made to one or more attached template files to disk, so that they become permanent.

Steps

1	Select the template files you want to save from the list. You can use Ctrl to add filenames to the selection, and Shift to select a range. You can also click and drag over a range of names.

2	Click the Save button to save the in-memory copies of the selected template files to disk and close the dialog. The previous contents of the template files will be overwritten

About Templates


The Template Insert  Dialog

This dialog allows you to insert a template from any attached template file into the current window.

Steps

1	Select the template file containing the template you want to insert from the Template Files list. As you select a file, the list of templates it holds will appear in the Template Names list.

2	Select the name of the template to insert from the Template Names list

3	Click the OK button to insert the template and close the dialog

The template will be inserted into the current window at the position of the caret. The caret will be positioned at the start of the inserted template data after this operation

About Templates


The Key Mapping Save File Dialog
The Key Mapping Save As Dialog

This dialog allows you to save changes that you've made to the current key mappings into a file of your choice

All key map files must have a filename extension of ".key"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to save the key map file into; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the key map file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing key map file from the list

3	Click on Save to save the key map file

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to save the key map file into

2	Type the name of the key map file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing key map file from the list

3	Click the OK box to save the key map file


The File Open Dialog
The Key Mapping Load Dialog

This dialog allows you load a set of key mappings from a file of your choice

All key map files must have a filename extension of ".key"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the key map file you want to load; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the key map file to select it

3	Click on Open to load the key map file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the key map file file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the key map file is in

2	Select the key map file you want to load in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to load the key map file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


The File Open Dialog

This dialog allows you to open an existing file for editing.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the file you want to open; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file you want to open to select it

3	If you want to open the file in read only mode, tick the Open as read-only box

4	If you've edited the file before, and you want PFE to position the window and the caret as you last left them, tick the Use saved position box

5	Click on Open to open the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the file is in

2	Select the file you want to open in the File Name list box.

3	If you want to open the file in read only mode, check the Read Only box

4	Click the OK box to open the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by Options Preferences command.

By default, PFE allows you to open only one file at a time in this dialog. However, you can use the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify that you want to be able to open more than one file. (Note that doing so has some effects on how long file names appear when you're using the 32-Bit Edition under Windows NT 3.51)

When multiple selection is allowed, clicking on a file name with the Ctrl key held down will add the file to those already selected; clicking with the Shift key down will select all the files between the previous selection and where the mouse now is.

By default, PFE does not alter the current working directory to be that of the file that you open with this dialog. However, you can make it do so with settings in the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The File Save As Dialog

This dialog allows you to save the file in the current window to disk, in a file whose name you specify. The name you give for the disk file is then associated permanently with it the current window and all others showing the same file.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directoryyou want to save the file into; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	If you want to save the file in Unix format, tick the Save In Unix Format box. For normal DOS format, make sure that the box is unchecked.

The setting you use here becomes the default for the next time you save this specific file.

4	If you want PFE to keep a backup copy of any file of the same name that already exists, tick the Keep backup box

5	Click on Save to save the file

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to save the file into

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	If you want to save the file in Unix format, check the Save In Unix Format box. For normal DOS format, make sure that the box is unchecked.

The setting you use here becomes the default for the next time you save this specific file.

4	If you want PFE to keep a backup copy of any file of the same name that already exists, tick the Keep backup box

5	Click the OK box to save the file

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by Options Preferences command.

After you've saved the current file with this dialog, PFE will associate the name of the disk file with all the windows showing it. The File Save command will then write to this file automatically.


The File View Dialog

This dialog allows you to open one or more files that already exist in read only mode. Its action is exactly as if you used the File Open command and checked the Open as read-only box.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the file you want to open; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file you want to open to select it

3	If you've edited the file before, and you want PFE to position the window and the caret as you last left them, tick the Use saved position box

4	Click on Open to open the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the file is in

2	Select the file you want to open in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to open the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the File Filters panel of the dialog started by Options Preferences command.

By default, PFE allows you to open only one file at a time in this dialog. However, you can use the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify that you want to be able to open more than one file. (Note that doing so has some effects on how long file names appear when you're using the 32-Bit Edition under Windows NT 3.51)

When multiple selection is allowed, clicking on a file name with the Ctrl key held down will add the file to those already selected; clicking with the Shift key down will select all the files between the previous selection and where the mouse now is.

By default, PFE does not alter the current working directory to be that of the file that you open with this dialog. However, you can make it do so with settings in the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The File Name Dialog

This dialog allows you to change the file name associated with the file in the current window. The File Save command will then write to this file automatically.

The copy of the original file on disk is not altered or renamed by this operation.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to contain the renamed file; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to set the new name for the file

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to contain the renamed file

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to set the new name for the file

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" pane of the dialog started by Options Preferences command.

After you've named the current file with this dialog, PFE will associate that name with all the windows showing it. The File Save command will then write to this file automatically.


The File Write Dialog

This dialog allows you to save the file in the current window to disk, in a file whose name you specify. Unlike the File Save As command, the filename associated with the window is not changed.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to write the file into; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to write the file

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to save the file into

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to write the file

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by Options Preferences command.


The File Insert Dialog

This dialog allows you to insert the entire contents of an existing file into the current window at the position of the caret.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the file you want to open; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file you want to insert to select it

3	Click on Open to insert the file into the current window

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The Files of Type list at the bottom of the dialog allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the file is in

2	Select the file you want to insert in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to insert the file into the current window

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

The List Files of Type list at lower left allows you to restrict the files shown in the list to those matching specific filename patterns. By default, there is one entry - "*.*" - in this list, so you'll see all the files in each directory. You can configure the list to match how you want to work with the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The Edit Find Dialog

This dialog allows you to find occurrences of text strings.  Unlike most dialogs, you can continue to work in PFE while it is visible, so you can switch between your windows to search in several of them in one operation.

Steps

1	Type the text you want to search for in the Find What edit control. A special notation allows you to search for characters like "end of line" that you can't type. The notation uses the "\" character, so you must type this as "\\".

If the current window contained a highlighted selection when you started the dialog, the Find What edit control will show the selected text, allowing you quickly to search for further occurrences. PFE also records the last 8 strings you searched for, and you can repeat the search for one of these by clicking on the drop-down button to the right of the edit control and selecting the string from the list. The string you searched for last time will always be at the head of the list.

2	In the Direction area, set the direction of search. You can search up from the caret's current position to the start of the file, or down from the caret's position to the end of the file

3	Set up the search options you want to apply:

If the Match Case box is checked, PFE will match what you type exactly. If it's unchecked, upper-case and lower-case letters are taken as the same

If the Select Matching Text box is checked, PFE will highlight any matching text it finds. If it's unchecked, the text won't be highlighted

If the Extend Selection box is checked, PFE will highlight all the text from where the caret is now to the end of the matching text. You can only check this box if you've also checked the Select Matching Text box.

4	Click the Find Next button to perform the search. You can repeat this as often as you want.

If you want to search in some other window, simply activate it while this dialog is still on screen and click the Find Next button again.

5	To close the dialog, click the Cancel button.

After you've performed a search, you can repeat it very quickly with the Edit Repeat Last Find command, which will make the search without showing this dialog.

By default the strings saved in the Find What list are not recorded for subsequent edit sessions. However, you can request that PFE does record them with the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The Edit Replace Dialog

This dialog allows you to find occurrences of a text string and replace them with another.  Unlike most dialogs, you can continue to work in PFE while it is visible, so you can switch between your windows to make changes in several of them in one operation.

The search is always made from the current position of the caret down to the end of the file.

Steps

1	Type the text you want to search for in the Find What edit control. A special notation allows you to search for characters like "end of line" that you can't type. The notation uses the "\" character, so you must type this as "\\".

If the current window contained a highlighted selection when you started the dialog, the Find What edit control will show the selected text, allowing you quickly to search for further occurrences. PFE also records the last 8 strings you searched for, and you can repeat the search for one of these by clicking on the drop-down button to the right of the edit control and selecting the string from the list. The string you searched for last time will always be at the head of the list.

2	Type the text you want to replace it with in the Replace With edit control. The same notation is used for characters you can't type.

PFE also records the last 8 strings you used as replacement strings, and you can re-use one of these by clicking on the drop-down button to the right of the edit control and selecting the string from the list. The string you used last time will always be at the head of the list.

To simply delete occurrences of the search string, leave this edit control blank.

3	Set up the search options you want to apply:

If the Match Case box is checked, PFE will match what you type exactly. If it's unchecked, upper-case and lower-case letters are taken as the same

4	Select an operation you want to perform:

Clicking the Find Next button moves to the next occurrence of the search string

Clicking the Replace button replaces the current match (or the first match it finds after the caret), and moves to the next

Clicking the Replace All button replaces all matches automatically

5	To close the dialog, click the Cancel button.

You can repeat step 4 as often as you wish. To work in another window, simply activate it and choose an action from step 4.

Clicking the Undo Last button will reverse the effect of the last replacement made in the current window. To undo the effects of more than one replacement, use the Edit Undo menu command or the undo toolbar button.

After you've performed a replace operation, you can repeat it very quickly with the Edit Repeat Last Replace command, which will make the replacement without showing this dialog.

By default the strings saved in the Find What and Replace With lists are not recorded for subsequent edit sessions. However, you can request that PFE does record them with the "General Options" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The Template Attach File Dialog

This dialog allows you to attach a template file, making the templates that it contains available for use.

All template files must have a filename extension of ".tpl"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the template file you want to attach; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file you want to open to select it

3	Click on Open to attach the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the template file is in

2	Select the file you want to attach in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to attach the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

About Templates


The Execute DOS Command To Window Dialog

This dialog allows you to run a DOS program, such as a compiler, or an internal command such as dir, and capture the output into an edit window.

You can run only one DOS program at a time with this dialog.

You can't start a Windows application with this dialog; for that, use the Execute Launch Application command.

Steps

1	Type the DOS command line you want to execute into the Command edit control. You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the command line unaltered, type it as "%%"

You can also select one of the previous command lines used from the drop down list box.

To browse your directories to find the program you want to run, click the "…" browse button.

2	Type the path of the working directory you want the command to start in into the Working Directory edit control. If you leave this blank, or type the character ".", the command starts in PFE's current working directory, which is shown at the top of the dialog.

You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the directory path if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the path unaltered, type it as "%%"

3	Set the various options you want to apply:

-	Check the Audible alert on completion box if you want PFE to alert you with a sound when the command completes.

-	Check the First check for unsaved files box if PFE should warn you if you haven't saved the edits to any named files before starting to run the application

-	Check the Auto-scroll window to end of output box if you're capturing output, and you want PFE automatically to move to the end of the output when it shows it in a window

-	Check the Reuse any existing output window if you're capturing output, and you want PFE to show the output in a window you've used before rather than in a new one

-	Check the Use DOS 8.3 names in substitutions box if you're substituting parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line, and you want to use the short "8.3"  form of the name, rather than the long file name.

This option, which is available only in the 32-Bit Edition, might be needed if the application you're running is an old 16-bit DOS program which is unable to handle long file names

-	Click the Record directory as absolute pathname box if you want PFE to change what you've typed in the Directory box into a full pathname. If you leave this box unchecked, PFE leaves what you've typed unaltered, and so if you type a relative directory name, it will always be taken in relation to whatever the working directory is whenever you use the menu item.

-	Click the Iconise editor when command starts if you want PFE automatically to become an icon when it starts the command, to free screen space

4	Click the OK button to run the DOS program.

The command line, working directory path and options are recorded, and become the default for the next time you use this dialog.

Under Windows 3, to change the properties of the DOS window used to run the program, use the standard PIF Editor to modify the PIF file pfedos.pif

To repeat the operation exactly, use the Execute Repeat DOS Command to Window command.


The Execute Launch Application Dialog

This dialog allows you to launch a Windows application, or a DOS program, to run independently of PFE.

You can't capture the output of a DOS program launched with this dialog. For that, use the Execute DOS Command To Window command.

Steps

1	Type the command line you want to execute into the Command edit control. You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the command line unaltered, type it as "%%"

You can also select one of the previous command lines used from the drop down list box.

To browse your directories to find the program you want to run, click the "…" browse button.

2	Type the path of the working directory you want the command to start in into the Working Directory edit control. If you leave this blank, or type the character ".", the command starts in PFE's current working directory, which is shown at the top of the dialog.

You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the directory path if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the path unaltered, type it as "%%"

3	Set the various options you want to apply:

-	Check the First check for unsaved files box if PFE should warn you if you haven't saved the edits to any named files before starting to run the application

-	Check the Use DOS 8.3 names in substitutions box if you're substituting parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line, and you want to use the short "8.3"  form of the name, rather than the long file name.

This option, which is available only in the 32-Bit Edition, might be needed if the application you're running is an old 16-bit DOS program which is unable to handle long file names

-	Click the Record directory as absolute pathname box if you want PFE to change what you've typed in the Directory box into a full pathname. If you leave this box unchecked, PFE leaves what you've typed unaltered, and so if you type a relative directory name, it will always be taken in relation to whatever the working directory is whenever you use the menu item.

-	Click the Iconise editor when command starts if you want PFE automatically to become an icon when it starts the command, to free screen space

4	Click the OK button to start the application running independently of PFE

The command line, working directory path and options are recorded, and become the default for the next time you use this dialog.


The Options Key Mapping Dialog

This dialog allows you to alter the functions that are invoked when you press certain keys. The dialog allows you map new keys to functions; to quickly change a key mapping; and to configure prefix keys.

To map a key to a function, you can begin either with the key code, or with the name of the function. If you want to map a specific key to a function, it's easiest to begin by specifying the key; if you want to change the keys that map to a given function, it's best to start with the function name. However, you can use either method as you prefer.

TO MAP A KEY TO A FUNCTION

If you want to map a specific key to a function, it's best to start by specifying the key. Take the steps given here:

1	If the key you want to map is a prefix key, select the prefix key from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog. If the prefix key you want to use does not appear in the list, click the Configure button to run the prefix key configuration dialog. You can use Esc or any control key from Ctrl+A to Ctrl+Z as a prefix key.

2	Specify the second (or only) key to press from the controls in the next row of the dialog

Check the Alt box to specify that the Alt key must be held down

Check the Ctrl box to specify that the Control key must be held down

Check the Shift box to specify that the Shift key must be held down

Then select the key itself from the drop-down list on the right.

If the key can be mapped to a function, the name of the key will appear in the box below as confirmation. PFE will also indicate whether or not the key is already mapped to a function.

3	In the Functions section at the bottom of the dialog, select the name of the function you want to map the key to from the drop-down list. PFE will show you the names of any keys already mapping to this function in the list below the name

4	If you want the key name to appear on the menu associated with this function, check the Show this mapping on menu box; uncheck it if you do not want the key name to appear. This option won't be available if the function you've chosen has no corresponding menu item

5	Click the Add/Change button at the top right of the dialog to map the selected key to the selected function

TO UNMAP A  KEY FROM A FUNCTION

To unmap a key from a function, you can if you like use the steps detailed above and start by specifying the key. However, it's probably easier if you use the steps below and start with the function name.

1	In the Functions section of the dialog, select the name of the function from the drop-down list. PFE will show the names of the keys currently mapping to this function in the list below the function name

2	Select the key whose mapping you want to delete by double-clicking the left mouse button on the name. The key details will appear at the top of the dialog.

3	If you simply want to unmap the key so it does nothing, click the Delete button.

If you want to map the key to a different function, select the new function name from the drop-down list in the Commands section of the dialog, and click the Add/Change button.

SAVING CHANGES

Changes you make in this dialog apply only to the current PFE session unless you save them.

To save the changes so that they become the default key mapping that PFE will use when it starts, click the Save button. To avoid the risk of accidental change, if you specified a key map file when you started PFE with a "/k" command line option, the Save button will not be available. In this case, you must always use the Save As button to save changes.

To save the changes into a key map file, so that you can manually load and apply them when you wish, click the Save As button. This starts a sub-dialog that lets you specify the name of a file into which the key mappings can be saved.

LOADING A SET OF KEY MAPPINGS

To load a set of key mappings that you've saved to a file with the Save As button, click the Load button. This starts a sub-dialog that lets you specify the name of a file containing mappings, which PFE will load and apply.


The Key Mapping Prefix Keys Dialog

This dialog lets you define which keys are used as prefix keys, or keys which start two-character command sequences. You can use the Esc key, or any control key from Ctrl+A to Ctrl+Z as a prefix key

About Key Mapping

ACTIVATING KEYS AS PREFIXES

To make keys that are currently not prefixes act as prefixes, select the key names from the Inactive prefix keys list on the left of the dialog, and click the Activate button. The names will transfer to the Active prefix keys list on the right.

Note that if you make a key an active prefix, any mappings you've set up for it by itself will be suspended.

DEACTIVATING KEYS AS PREFIXES

To make keys that are currently prefixes act as ordinary keys, select the key names from the Active prefix keys list on the right of the dialog, and click the Deactivate button. The names will transfer to the Inactive prefix keys list on the left.


The Screen Font Dialog

This dialog allows you to choose the screen font that PFE will use to display text in all its edit windows. You can choose any fixed-pitch font that's installed in your system.

Steps

1	Select the name of the font you want to use from the Font list on the left.

2	If you want some other style than plain text, such as italic or bold, select this from the Font Style list in the centre of the dialog.

3	Select the size of the font, in points, from the Size list at the right. If the font you've selected is a scalable font - such as a TrueType font or one generated by Adobe Type Manager - you can choose any size between 6 and 24 points. Other fonts may offer only certain sizes.

4	Click the OK button to select the font and close the dialog.

PFE will use the font details you've chosen for all windows. The details are recorded and become the defaults.


The Options Preferences Dialog

This dialog allows you to configure the way in which you wish PFE to operate.

The dialog box contains two major areas. To the left, there is a list box that allows you to select the category of items you want to configure, and buttons that apply to the process of changing all the options. To the right is an area whose appearance will change depending on the category of items you're working with.

Steps

1	Select the category of items you want to configure from the list box on the left. The appearance of the panel on the right will change as you select the category, to show you the options that are relevant to it

2	In the panel on the right, set the various options as you want them. The individual panels are described in detail in the following help screens

3	If you want to apply the values you have changed and save them to the initialisation file, but carry on making further changes, click the Apply Now button.

4	If you want to apply the values you have changed, save them to the initialisation file, and close the dialog, click the OK button.

5	To close the dialog and abandon any changes you have made, click the Cancel button

Note that a small number of options cannot be changed while PFE is running. The new values you set will be recorded, but will not take effect until you exit PFE and restart it. If you alter any of these values, PFE will warn you about them when you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons.

The various panels that appear in the area on the right of the dialog are:

Associations	Options related to associating file types with PFE

Backup	Options related to backing up files when they are saved

Command Processor	Options related to the command processor used to run external applications

Configuration Sets	Options related to registry configuration sets (32-Bit Edition only)

Context Help	Options related to providing help on items within files

DOS Shell	Configures the DOS shell that PFE can start for you

Editing Files	General editing options

Execute Menu	Options for configuring the Execute Menu

File Change Check	Options for configuring how PFE checks files for changes by other applications

File Filters	The filters shown in the various dialogs that select files for opening

General Options	General control options

IntelliMouse	Options for configuring a Microsoft IntelliMouse (32-Bit Edition only)

Key Mapping	Options related to mapping keys to functions

Macros	Options related to keyboard macros and macro libraries

MRU List	Configures the list of Most-Recently-Used files that appears on the File menu

Saving Files	Options related to saving files to disk

Screen Font	Options that configure the screen font that PFE uses

Startup	Options that configure what PFE does when it starts

Status Bar	Options that control the status bar

System Colours	The colours of items such as the application workspace

Templates	Options related to templates

Tool Bar	Options related to the tool bar

User Help Files	Options relating to the user-configurable items added to the Help menu

Window Control	Options that control the initial state of edit windows

Windows Managers	Options relating to the various manager items on the Execute menu

Window Position Reuse	Options relating to how PFE positions windows for files you've edited before

Working Directory	Options relating to how PFE determines its working directory


Options Preferences Associations Panel
The Options Preferences Associations Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Associations option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to create associations between file types and PFE, so that, for example, you can double-click on a filename to edit it with PFE; and to remove existing associations.

(In versions of PFE prior to 0.07.001, it was necessary for you to create associations outside of PFE, using File Manager or Windows Explorer. These associations will not be shown in this panel, and you should redefine them as described for this and future versions)

Creating a new association

To associate a new filename with PFE, take the following steps:

1	Click the New button to bring up the New Association dialog

2	In the File Extension edit control, type the file extension for the file type you're associating, including the leading "." (dot) character.

3	Click the OK button to define the association

Any previous association between the file type and another application will be removed.

Deleting an existing association

To remove an association between a file type and PFE, take the following steps:

1	Select the file extension for the file type in the list

2	Click the Delete button to remove the association between this file type and PFE.

Changes you make with this panel take immediate effect.


Options Preferences Backup Panel
The Options Preferences Backup Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Backup option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE keeps backup copies of existing files when you save the changes you have made in an edit window.

-	Click the Never button if you do not want PFE to make backup copies of files under any circumstances. The various other configuration and saving dialogs will not allow you to select backup-related items in this case.

-	Click the Into file with extension button if you want PFE to make a backup copy into the same directory as the original file, but with a special file extension. You can choose the file extension you want PFE to use for backup files - by default, it will be ".$$$"

For the 16-Bit Edition, the specified extension will always replace the file's current extension.

For the 32-Bit Edition, PFE by default adds the specified extension to the end of the existing filename. The Add extension to existing name box controls this; you may need to disable this when saving to a non-local file system that does not support long file names if PFE is unable automatically to detect this.

-	Click the Into sub-directory button if you want PFE to make a backup copy into a sub-directory of the directory holding the original file, and using the same file name as the original. You can choose the sub-directory name (which must be in 8.3 format) or use the default of "$PFEBK". Note that PFE will create the sub-directory for you if it does not already exist.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Command Processor Panel
The Options Preferences Command Processor Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Command Processor option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the details of the command processor used to run external programs that you start with the Execute DOS Command To Window command.

-	Click Use the COMSPEC environment variable if you wish to use the standard command processor on your system, whose details are normally available in environment variable COMSPEC.

-	Click Use this command line if you wish to start either a different command processor, or if you need to add extra options to the command processor defined by COMSPEC. You can type the command line in the edit control, or browse for the pathname by clicking the "…" browse button

You should not include the standard "/c" option in the command line; PFE will add this automatically for you.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Browse For Command Processor Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your disks and directories to find the command processor executable that PFE will use to run the commands you start with the Execute DOS Command with Capture commands.

Steps

1	Use the Drives and Directories lists to move around your files until you find the directory containing the command processor executable.

2	Select the name of the file from the File Name list on the left.

3	Click the OK box to close the dialog. The full path name of the file you've selected will appear in the command processor edit control of the dialog panel.


Options Preferences Configuration Sets Panel
The Options Preferences Configuration Sets Panel (32-Bit Edition Only)

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Configuration Sets option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to manage the various configuration sets of initialisation data that you can establish.

At the top of the dialog, you'll see the name of the Default startup configuration set. This is the configuration set that PFE will use when it starts if you do not specify the "/r" command line option; by default, this will be "DefaultConfiguration"

Below this, Current active configuration set shows you the name of the configuration set that you are currently using in this session of PFE. Normally, this name will be the same as the default startup set above; however, you can change the name of the default set as explained below.

Finally, you'll see a list of Existing configuration sets, which shows all the configuration sets that you've created. You can set up as many configuration sets as you wish.

Creating a configuration set

To set up a new, empty configuration set, click the New button. This will start a dialog that lets you specify the name you've chosen for the new configuration set.

Once created, the configuration set will contain no information. If you start PFE using this set, it will act just as if you've freshly installed it. You can, though, copy the details of an existing configuration set into it from this dialog, as explained below.

Deleting a configuration set

To delete a configuration set, select the name in the Existing configuration sets list and click the Delete button.

You won't be able to delete the configuration set

-	If it's the one shown as the Default configuration set

-	If it's the one shown as the Current active configuration set, which you're using in the current session

-	If any other instance of PFE that you're running is using it.

Copying a configuration set

To copy the details held in an existing configuration set to another set, you should first ensure that the set you want to copy to exists; follow the instructions under Creating a configuration set above if not.

Next, select the name of the configuration set you want to copy in the Existing configuration sets list, and click Copy. This will start a dialog that will let you select the set to make the copy into and perform the operation.

You won't be able to perform the copy

-	If the output configuration set is the one shown as the Current active configuration set, which you're using in the current session

-	If the output configuration set is the same as the one you're copying from

-	If any other instance of PFE that you're running is using the configuration set you're copying into

Exporting a configuration set

To copy the details of a configuration set into a file that you can pass to other users or move to another of your computers, you should select the name of the configuration set in the Existing configuration sets list and click Export From.

This starts a dialog that enables you to name the export file to use, which must have a file type of ".rcf". Select the file in this dialog, or type the name of a new file, then click on Open to perform the operation.

Note that unlike the registry key export facility in the standard Windows Registry Editor application, this operation produces a non-editable binary format file that can be restored to a configuration set of any name.

Importing a configuration set

To import the details of a configuration set from a file produced by an export operation described above (either on this computer or on another) , you should first ensure that the set you want to import into exists; follow the instructions under Creating a configuration set above if not.

Next, select the name of the configuration set to import into in the Existing configuration sets list and click Import To.

This selects a dialog that allows you to locate the export file, which will have a file type of ".rcf", to be used. Select this file, then click on Open to perform the import.

You won't be able to perform the import

-	If the configuration set you're importing to is the one shown as the Current active configuration set, which you're using in the current session

-	If any other instance of PFE that you're running is using the configuration set you're importing into

Note that you can import from a .rcf file into a configuration set of a different name to the one you exported it from.

Defining a new default configuration set

By default, PFE will automatically create a configuration set called "DefaultConfiguration" and will use this whenever you start PFE without a "/r" command line option.

To use a different configuration set, you can specify it with the "/r" option on a per-session basis; or you can make a different configuration set the default.

To make a configuration set the default, select its name in the Existing configuration sets list, then click Make default startup set.


The Export Configuration Set Dialog

This dialog allows you to export a registry configuration set into a file on your disk

Exported configuration sets must have a filename extension of ".rcf"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to export the configuration set; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the export file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to export the configuration set

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to export the configuration set into

2	Type the name of the export file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to export the configuration set


The Import Configuration Set Dialog

This dialog allows you import a registry configuration set from an export file on your disk

Exported configuration sets must have a filename extension of ".rcf"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the export file you want to load; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the export file to select it

3	Click on Open to load the export file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the export file file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the export file is in

2	Select the export file you want to load in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to load the export file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the export file directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


Options Preferences Context Help Panel
The Options Preferences Context Help Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Context Help option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE provides you with context specific help when you double click the right mouse button on a word in an edit window or use the Help Context Help command.

The Context Help File area allows you to specify the Windows help file that will be opened to provide context-specific help.

-	Click the Use first user help file button to use the first help file specified in the list maintained by the User Help Files panel of this dialog

-	Click the Use this file button if you want to specify a specific help file. You can enter the name of an existing Windows help file, or browse for one by clicking the "..." button to the right of the edit control. Note that any file name you specify will be converted to an absolute pathname.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Browse For Context Help File Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your disks and directories to find a Windows help file to be used to supply context help when you use the Help Context Help command or double-click the right mouse button on a word in an edit window.

Steps

1	Use the Drives and Directories lists to move around your files until you find the directory containing the Windows help file.

2	Select the name of the file from the File Name list on the left.

3	Click the OK box to close the dialog. The full path name of the file you've selected will appear in the Path edit control of the dialog panel.


Options Preferences DOS Shell Panel
The Options Preferences DOS Shell Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the DOS Shell option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the DOS Shell that PFE starts when you use the Execute DOS Prompt command or click the DOS Shell tool bar button

-	Click the Use COMSPEC button to have PFE determine the pathname of the command processor from the contents of the COMSPEC environment variable. This is the default situation, and you will probably not need to change it unless you are using a command processor other than command.com for the 16-Bit Edition or cmd.exe for the 32-Bit Edition. Alternative command processors will normally ensure that the COMSPEC environment variable is set to refer to them. With this option set, PFE runs the command processor with no command line arguments

-	Click the Use this command line button if you want to specify the exact command line to be run. You can type in the command line you want to be executed -  clicking the "..." button starts a dialog that lets you browse for the name of the command processor itself

Changes you make with this panel will not be recorded or actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Browse DOS Shell Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse to find the executable file containing the DOS Command Processor that is started by the Execute DOS Prompt command.

You can select a file of type ".exe", ".com" or ".pif"

It is up to you to choose a suitable executable file; PFE does not check that you have actually chosen a DOS Command Processor.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the executable file; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on Open to set the file name in the edit control of the parent dialog

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the executable file is in

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on OK to set the file name in the edit control of the parent dialog

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


Options Preferences Editing Files Panel
The Options Preferences Editing Files Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Editing Files option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE edits files.

-	Check the Remove highlight after copy to clipboard box if you want PFE to remove the highlight from selected text after you use the Edit Copy command to copy it to the clipboard. The default is to leave the text highlighted.

-	Check the Allow drag and drop editing button if you want to be able to move text around in an edit window by dragging it with the mouse and dropping it where you want it to be. The default is to have drag and drop editing active.

-	Check the Default drag and drop action to move box if you want the drag and drop editing action to delete the text from where it is originally if you simply hold the mouse button down while dragging. With the box unchecked, you will need to hold the Control key down to delete the original copy

-	Check the Beep on all errors box if you want audio feedback on all errors. With the box unchecked, only errors that do not give you any other indication will make a sound. The default is to beep always.

-	Check the Highlight result of Edit Find action box if you want the text matched by the Edit Find command to be highlighted. The default is to have highlighting turned on.

-	Check the Scroll to follow vertical thumbtack box if you want PFE to scroll the text in a window to follow the movement of the thumbtack in its vertical scroll bar. The default is to have scrolling turned on.

-	Check the Detect file format when opening file box if you want PFE to attempt to detect whether a file is in DOS or UNIX formats when it is loaded. The default is to have detection turned on.

-	Check the Use block caret for insert mode box if you want PFE to show the caret as a solid block when you are inserting text, and as a thin vertical line when you are overwriting existing text. With the box unchecked (the default) the caret is a box for overwriting and a line for inserting.

-	Check the Use smart tabbing box if you want PFE to use smart tabbing, which alters the behaviour of the TAB key when you have text selected and makes it perform a text indent operation rather than inserting a character.

-	The Maximum undo actions recorded control lets you configure the amount of undo action recorded for each file being edited. You can set the value to a number between 8 and 128; larger numbers will consume more memory and will cause a small performance degradation in some operations. Note that an undo action is a sequence of keystrokes and not a single one; thus an unbroken typing sequence counts as one action, rather than as the number of characters typed.

You will need to restart PFE to action any change to this value.

Changes you make with this panel will not be recorded or actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Execute Menu Panel
The Options Preferences Execute Menu Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Execute Menu option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure up to 16 items that are added to the Execute Menu to run external applications; you can specify independent applications, or you can run DOS programs and capture their output.

You can also specify an audible alert to be used to notify you when DOS commands run with output capture complete.

The dialog panel shows you a list of the menu items that you've already established, plus a number of push buttons.

Defining a new menu item

To define a new item for the Execute Menu, click the New button. This will begin a dialog that allows you to define the name that appears on the menu, and the command that the item will run.

Deleting a menu item

To delete an item from the Execute Menu, take the following steps:

1	Select the item in the list of items

2	Click the Delete button.

Re-ordering menu items

When you define a new menu item for the Execute Menu, it will initially be added as the last one on the list and appear at the bottom of the menu.

To move an item in the list, take the following steps:

1	Select the item to be moved in the list

2	Use the Up and Down buttons to move it to the place required

Editing a menu item

To edit an item that you've already defined for the Execute Menu, take the following steps:

1	Select it in the list of items

2	Click the Edit button to begin a dialog that allows you to change all the details of the item.

You can also perform this operation by double-clicking the left mouse button on the item in the list.

Setting an audible alert

When you run a DOS command such as a compiler and capture its output, you can if you wish have PFE give you an audible alert when the command completes.

This alert can be the standard system sound, or you can play an audio (wav) file of your choice.

To configure the audible alert, click the Audible alert button, which will start a dialog to set the details.

Note that this alert applies to commands run from Execute Menu items that you have configured, and to those started with the Execute DOS Command To Window and Execute Repeat DOS Command To Window commands.


New Execute Menu Item Dialog
The New Execute Menu Item Dialog

This dialog allows you to set the details of a command that you want to add to the Execute Menu.

You can add up to 16 items to the menu, giving each a menu name of your choice. Each item can run a specified command line in a specified working directory; you can run independent applications such as Internet Explorer, or DOS programs such as compilers whose output you want to capture in a window.

Steps

1	Enter the name that you want to appear on the menu in the Menu item box. If you want a particular letter to be the hot key for the item, precede it with a "&" character; to include a "&" character itself in the name, you should write it as "&&".

2	Enter the command line to be started by the menu item in the Command box. You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file that will be showing in the current window in the command line if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the command line unaltered, type it as "%%"

To browse to find the application that you want to start, click the "…" browse button.

3	Type the path of the working directory you want the command to start in into the Directory box. If you leave this blank, or specify the character ".", the command starts in PFE's current working directory.

You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file that will be showing in the current window in the directory path if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the path unaltered, type it as "%%"

To browse to find the directory to use, click the "…" browse button.

4	In the Start command box, specify how the application is to be started.

-	Click the As independent process button to start the application independently of PFE; you should do this, for example, to start another Windows application

-	Click the And capture output button if you want to capture the output from the command; you should do this, for example, to run a DOS compiler.

5	In the Options box, select the various options you want to apply. Note that depending on your actions in Step 4 above, not all the options may be available.

-	Check the Audible alert on completion box if you want PFE to alert you with a sound when the command completes.

-	Check the First check for unsaved files box if PFE should warn you if you haven't saved the edits to any named files before starting to run the application

-	Check the Auto-scroll window to end of output box if you're capturing output, and you want PFE automatically to move to the end of the output when it shows it in a window

-	Check the Reuse any existing output window if you're capturing output, and you want PFE to show the output in a window you've used before rather than in a new one

-	Check the Use DOS 8.3 names in substitutions box if you're substituting parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line, and you want to use the short "8.3"  form of the name, rather than the long file name.

This option, which is available only in the 32-Bit Edition, might be needed if the application you're running is an old 16-bit DOS program which is unable to handle long file names

-	Click the Record directory as absolute pathname box if you want PFE to change what you've typed in the Directory box into a full pathname. If you leave this box unchecked, PFE leaves what you've typed unaltered, and so if you type a relative directory name, it will always be taken in relation to whatever the working directory is whenever you use the menu item.

-	Click the Iconise editor when command starts if you want PFE automatically to become an icon when it starts the command, to free screen space

6	Click the OK button to add the new item to the Execute Menu.


Edit Execute Menu Item Dialog
The Edit Execute Menu Item Dialog

This dialog allows you to alter the details of a command that you've added to the Execute Menu.

Each item can run a specified command line in a specified working directory; you can run independent applications such as Internet Explorer, or DOS programs such as compilers whose output you want to capture in a window.

Steps

1	Edit the name that you want to appear on the menu in the Menu item box. If you want a particular letter to be the hot key for the item, precede it with a "&" character; to include a "&" character itself in the name, you should write it as "&&".

2	Edit the command line to be started by the menu item in the Command box. You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file that will be showing in the current window in the command line if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the command line unaltered, type it as "%%"

To browse to find the application that you want to start, click the "…" browse button.

3	Edit the path of the working directory you want the command to start in into the Directory box. If you leave this blank, or specify the character ".", the command starts in PFE's current working directory.

You can automatically substitute parts of the name of the file that will be showing in the current window in the directory path if you wish. Such substitution points are indicated by a "%" character, so if you wish to include a "%" in the path unaltered, type it as "%%"

To browse to find the directory to use, click the "…" browse button.

4	In the Start command box, specify how the application is to be started.

-	Click the As independent process button to start the application independently of PFE; you should do this, for example, to start another Windows application

-	Click the And capture output button if you want to capture the output from the command; you should do this, for example, to run a DOS compiler.

5	In the Options box, select the various options you want to apply. Note that depending on your actions in Step 4 above, not all the options may be available.

-	Check the Audible alert on completion box if you want PFE to alert you with a sound when the command completes.

-	Check the First check for unsaved files box if PFE should warn you if you haven't saved the edits to any named files before starting to run the application

-	Check the Auto-scroll window to end of output box if you're capturing output, and you want PFE automatically to move to the end of the output when it shows it in a window

-	Check the Reuse any existing output window if you're capturing output, and you want PFE to show the output in a window you've used before rather than in a new one

-	Check the Use DOS 8.3 names in substitutions box if you're substituting parts of the name of the file showing in the current window in the command line, and you want to use the short "8.3"  form of the name, rather than the long file name.

This option, which is available only in the 32-Bit Edition, might be needed if the application you're running is an old 16-bit DOS program which is unable to handle long file names

-	Click the Record directory as absolute pathname box if you want PFE to change what you've typed in the Directory box into a full pathname. If you leave this box unchecked, PFE leaves what you've typed unaltered, and so if you type a relative directory name, it will always be taken in relation to whatever the working directory is whenever you use the menu item.

-	Click the Iconise editor when command starts if you want PFE automatically to become an icon when it starts the command, to free screen space

6	Click the OK button to alter the details of the item on the Execute Menu.


Options Preferences File Change Check Panel
The Options Preferences File Change Check Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the File Change Check option from the list box on the left.

As you run PFE and edit files, you can if you wish set it to check the files you're working on for changes by other applications. PFE will check whenever you switch to it from using another application, and if it finds that a file has been altered on disk, will ask if you want to load a new copy, possibly discarding any changes you've made.

By default, PFE will perform the check on any file you're editing that is held on a hard disk installed in your own computer. You can, if you wish, specify that checks should also be made on files held on another computer that you're using across a network; however, you may find that this can cause a small delay when switching back to PFE, depending on the speed of your network connection and your server.

If you're working across a slow dial-up connection to your network, it's best to restrict checking to files held on your local hard disks

PFE will not check for changes on files that are held on removable media.

-	To enable file change checking, check the Check files for changes by other applications box

-	To restrict the check to files that are held on your local hard disks, click on the Check files on local hard disks only button

-	To extend the check to files that are held either on your local hard disks or on network drives, click on the Check files on local hard disks and net drives button

By default, PFE checks the time a file was last written, the size of the file, and whether it is marked as being read only in its directory entry. A difference in any one of these three items will make PFE treat the file on disk as being altered.

You can if you wish disable the check on the file's read only attribute, by removing the check from the Check files' read-only attribute for change box.

Changes you make with this panel will not be recorded or actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences File Filters Panel
The Options Preferences File Filters Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the File Filters option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the list of file filters used to select files in the standard file-open dialogs used by the File Open and similar commands.

The dialog panel allows you to specify new filters, edit existing ones, and change the ordering of how the filters appear in the dialogs.

Adding a new filter

To add a new file filter after those you've already defined, take the following steps:

1	Click the New button to start the dialog that lets you define the new filter. The filter will be added at the end of the list

2	If you wish, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to place the new filter where you require it in the list.

You can define a maximum of 32 file filters.

If yu have not defined any file filters, PFE will automatically show an "All Files" filter in the file opening dialogs that will display the names of all your files. However, once you define a filter you take on full responsibility for what the dialogs display; so if you want the option to see all your filenames, you must add a filter containing the filename pattern "*.*" yourself. PFE will warn you of this when you create the first filter, and will give you the chance to create a suitable entry automatically.

Editing an existing filter

To change the details of an existing filter, take the following steps:

1	Select the filter in the list box

2	Click the Edit button to start the dialog that allows you to change the details

Deleting an existing filter

To delete an existing filter, take the following steps:

1	Select the filter from the list box at the top of the panel

2	Click the Delete button to delete it

Re-Ordering Filters

The various file-opening dialogs will show the list of filters in the order that they appear in this dialog panel. If you want to change the order of the filters you have defined, take the following steps:

1	Select the filter whose position you want to change in the list box at the top of the panel

2	Click the Move up button to move it one place up in the list, or the Move down button to move it one place down

Any changes you make to your filters will not be stored until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. Until that time, you can abandon any changes that you don't want to keep by clicking on the Cancel button.


The New Filter Dialog

This dialog allows you to define a new file filter, which allows you to restrict the filenames shown in the various file opening dialogs.

Each file filter consists of two components. The filter name, such as "Source files (c,h)", is shown in the file opening dialogs and describes what the filter does. The filename pattern, such as "*.h, *.c", is used by Windows to select the filenames to show.

Steps

1	In the Filter name edit control, type the string that will be shown in the file opening dialogs. You can make this up to 32 characters long

2	In the Filename pattern edit control, type the DOS wildcard filename patterns that Windows will use to select the files you want to see. For example, you could type

*.c , *.h , *.rc

to set up a filter that selects files with extensions ".c", ".h" and ".rc".

A filter can contain up to 16 wildcard filename patterns, separated by spaces, commas or semicolons.

3	Click the OK button to add the filter to the end of the list.


The Edit Filter Dialog

This dialog allows you to edit an existing file filter, which allows you to restrict the filenames shown in the various file opening dialogs.

Each file filter consists of two components. The filter name, such as "Source files (c,h)", is shown in the file opening dialogs and describes what the filter does. The filename pattern, such as "*.h, *.c", is used by Windows to select the filenames to show.

Steps

1	In the Filter name edit control, type the string that will be shown in the file opening dialogs. You can make this up to 32 characters long

2	In the Filename pattern edit control, type the DOS wildcard filename patterns that Windows will use to select the files you want to see. For example, you could type

*.c , *.h , *.rc

to set up a filter that selects files with extensions ".c", ".h" and ".rc".

A filter can contain up to 16 wildcard filename patterns, separated by spaces, commas or semicolons.

3	Click the OK button to change the details of the original filter.


Options Preferences General Options Panel
The Options Preferences General Options Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the General Options option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various general-purpose facets of how PFE works

-	Check the Record Find/Replace strings on exit box if you want the strings you specify in the dialogs started by the Edit Find and Edit Replace commands to be recorded at the end of your session, and made available when you next start PFE

-	The Ignore first mouse click moving between windows box lets you change how PFE uses the mouse to move control between edit windows. By default, the first time you click the mouse within a edit window PFE activates the window, but does not move the caret to the position clicked on or action a scroll bar move. If this box is checked, the caret position is changed on the first click in the window

-	Check the Do not show scroll bars in MDI workspace box if you want always to have the maximum amount of workspace available. By default PFE acts like a standard MDI application, and shows draws scroll bars at the edges of the workspace if any edit window moves out of the visible area. Suppressing scroll bars can give a more pleasing operational style; however, to see windows that are outside the visible part of the workspace will require you to use a command such as Window Cascade

-	Check the Select multiple files in File Open/View dialogs box if you want to be able to open more than one file at a time with the File Open and File View commands.

If you are using the 32-Bit Edition under Windows NT 3.51, setting this option effects how you work with some long file names.

-	Check the Change directory in File Open/View dialogs box if you want PFE to change the working directory to the one containing a file whenever you use the File Open or File View commands. By default, the working directory is not altered when you open files.

Note that depending on the Operating System you are using, the working directory may or may not alter if select this option, then use one of the dialogs to browse the filestore but cancel the operation without opening a file.

-	Check the Use 3D effect in dialogs box if you want dialogs to appear with shading to give them a 3-dimensional look. By default 3D dialogs are enabled.

You will need to exit and restart PFE to enable a change to this setting. Note that this option does not appear if you are using the 32-Bit Edition under Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 or later or Win32s.

-	Check the Save MRU list if running multi-instance box to make PFE record the details of the files that you've used most recently when it's running in multi-instance mode. By default this option is enabled.

-	Check the Print multiple files in a single spool job box if you want all the files printed by the File Print All command to be spooled in a single job, with a single banner page where your printer has this enabled. By default, each file is spooled as a separate job, and each will have a banner page where appropriate.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences IntelliMouse Panel
The Options Preferences IntelliMouse Panel (32-Bit Edition Only)

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the IntelliMouse option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure how a Microsoft IntelliMouse behaves within PFE, possibly setting different values to those applying to other applications.

-	If you want the IntelliMouse wheel's actions to be those defined by the IntelliPoint or mouse control panel, click the Use IntelliPoint control panel settings. The settings for the amount a window scrolls when you rotate the mouse wheel, and the direction of the scroll, will be those set in the control panel.

This is the default setting, and means that the IntelliMouse will behave in PFE in the same way as in all your other applications.

-	If you want the IntelliMouse's behaviour to be different in PFE to other applications, click the Use these settings button. This lets you set the options that will apply only within PFE.

-	Click the Scroll text a page at a time button if you want every click of the mouse wheel to scroll up and down the current window one page at a time

-	Click the Scroll text by lines button if you want one click of the mouse wheel to scroll up and down the current window by a number of lines. You can specify the number of lines in the edit control to be any value between 0 and 32.

Normally, rotating the wheel towards the monitor shows you lines higher in the window, and rotating away from the monitor shows lines lower in the window. Checking the Reverse sense of mouse wheel box reverses this behaviour.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences MRU List Panel
The Options Preferences MRU List Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the MRU List option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the list of the Most-Recently-Used files that PFE maintains for you and shows you on the File menu.

In the List Size area you can configure how many files are recorded in the list, and how many of these files PFE will add as selectable items to the File menu.

-	The Maximum number of files recorded edit control lets you specify how many files PFE should record at the end of an edit session. You can set the value to any number between 0 and 64

-	The Number shown on menu edit control lets you specify how many files from this list are shown at the end of the File menu. You can set this value to a number between 0 and 32.

You will need to restart PFE to action any changes you make in this area.

In the List appearance area you can configure how the menu should appear.

-	Check the Show list in separate column on File menu box to show the list of files appears in a separate column on the File Menu, rather than at the end of a single column.

You will need to restart PFE to action any changes you make in this area.

Note that if you're using the 32-Bit Edition, the Control Station "Recent Files" folder also shows you the files that you've used lately. This folder contains all the files in the list, and always presents them as complete pathnames, in alpabetical order

In the Options area you can configure some details of how PFE behaves when you select files from the list or, in the 32-Bit Edition, from the "Recent Files" folder in the Control Station

-	Check the Change directory on opening file box if you want PFE to alter its current working directory to the one containing the file you're opening. By default, the current working directory will not be changed when you use the MRU list.

The Clear MRU List button lets you remove all the files that are recorded on the MRU list. It takes immediate effect.

Changes you make with this panel (apart from emptying the MRU list) will not be recorded until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Key Mapping Panel
The Options Preferences Key Mapping Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Key Mapping option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE maps keys to functions.

The Keymap file loaded at startup area lets you specify where PFE should look for the default key map file when it starts.

-	Click the Use default file in initialisation directory button if you want PFE to load its default key map file from the initialisation directory defined by the Startup panel of this dialog (by default, this is the Windows directory). The key map file loaded will be called pfe.key (16-Bit Edition) or pfe32.key (32-Bit Edition)

-	Click the Use this file button if you wish to specify an explicit file name. You can type the file name, or browse for it with the "..." button. Note that any file name you type will be converted to an absolute path name

Note that the file name specified here can be overridden at startup time by using the "/k" command line option.

To edit the key mappings that you have established, click the Edit Key Mappings button. This starts the dialog that edits the settings, and is equivalent to using the Options Key Mapping command

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Browse For Key Map File Dialog
The Browse For Default Key Map File Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your disks and directories to find the key map file that you want PFE to load automatically when it starts.

A key map file must have the file extension ".key"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the key map file; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the key map file to select it

3	Click on Open to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the key map file is in

2	Click on the name of the key map file to select it

3	Click on OK to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


Options Preferences Macros Panel
The Options Preferences Macros Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Macros option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to keyboard macros and macro libraries.

-	The Close Macro Librarian on macro edit/play box controls how the Macro Librarian dialog behaves when you initiate a macro edit, or initiate replaying a macro, from it. Normally the dialog remains visible (although you can continue to work in PFE); checking the box will cause the dialog automatically to close.


Options Preferences Saving Files Panel
The Options Preferences Saving Files Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Saving Files option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to what PFE does when files are written to disk.

-	Check the Clear undo actions after saving file if you want PFE to discard the details of how to undo the edit actions performed on a file whenever it is saved to disk. By default, undo actions are forgotten when you write a file to disk; this can reduce the amount of memory needed for the file substantially. With the box checked, undo actions are discarded only when the stack becomes full and the oldest action must be deleted to make room for a new one, or you use the Edit Clear Undo command

-	Check the Allow File Save with unaltered files box if you want the File Save command and the corresponding toolbar button to be always available, whether or not the window you are working in has been altered. By default, the command can only be used if you have made some alterations that have not been preserved on disk.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Screen Font Panel
The Options Preferences Screen Font Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Screen Font option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the font that PFE uses to display text in your edit windows. At the top of the panel, a thumbnail window shows sample text that will let you see how your chosen font will appear.

-	Click the ANSI Fixed Pitch Font button to select the standard fixed-width ANSI font. The exact font used will depend on your video driver and Windows configuration

-	Click the System Fixed Pitch Font button to select the standard fixed-width system font. The exact font used will depend on your video driver and Windows configuration

-	Click the OEM Fixed Pitch Font button to select the standard fixed-width OEM font. The exact font used will depend on your video driver and Windows configuration. This font will allow you to display the IBM DOS graphic characters in your windows

-	Click the Installed Fixed Pitch Font button to select one of the fixed pitch fonts installed on your system. PFE allows you to use True Type, ATM or other installed font. The name and other details of the font selected appears in the information box below the button. If you have not yet chosen a font, you will now need to click on the "..." browse button. This starts a dialog that allows you to choose from your installed fonts.

Note that although PFE allows you to select from your installed fonts, it does not allow you to pick proportionally-spaced ones. Therefore, most of the fonts you have installed will not appear in the font selection dialog.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Starting PFE Panel
The Options Preferences Starting PFE Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Starting PFE option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE starts running

The Start main window area controls how PFE creates its main window

-	Click the As last time button if you want the main window to be created at the same size, and in the same position, as it was when your last session ended. This is the default setting.

-	Click the Maximized button if you want the main window to be always created to fill the whole of your screen.

The Auto-Startup Action area controls what, if any, action you want PFE to perform automatically when it starts.

-	Click the None button if you do not want any action performed automatically. This is the default state.

-	Click the New empty window button if you want an empty edit window to be created when PFE starts. This is equivalent to your using the File New command

-	Click the Open existing file button if you want to be prompted to open an existing file for editing. This is equivalent to your using the File Open command

The Location of initialisation files configures where PFE looks by default for its initialisation file (16-Bit Edition only) and its default key map file.

-	Click the In the Windows directory button to have PFE take the files from your Windows directory. This is the default case, and is compatible with the way most Windows applications operate

-	Click the In the same directory as the PFE executable button to have PFE look for the files in the directory that contains the pfe.exe or pfe32.exe file that you are running

-	Click the In the startup directory button to have PFE look for the files in the directory that is the current directory when it starts. This directory can be set by configuring the PFE icon in Program Manager

-	Click the In this directory button to have PFE look in a specific directory. You can type in a directory pathname, or browse for it with the "..." button. Note that any pathname you type will be converted into an absolute pathname.

The rest of the dialog panel contains miscellaneous items

-	Check the Only run one instance at a time button if you want only one copy of PFE to be running at any time. This is the default state; if you try to start PFE and it is already running, the existing copy will be activated rather than a new one started.

This setting can be overridden at startup with the "/m" command line option

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Status Bar Panel
The Options Preferences Status Bar Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Status Bar option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the status bar

The Visibility area controls whether the status bar appears at the bottom of the screen or not

-	Click the Visible button if you want the status bar to appear

-	Click the Hidden button if you do not want to see the status bar. This will produce extra window space for you to see your files in, but you will lose an important source of information about what PFE is doing as you edit

If you wish to configure the status bar colours, click the Set Colours button. This takes you to the System Colours panel of this dialog, and is equivalent to selecting the System Colours item from the list at the left of the dialog.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any changes that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences System Colours Panel
The Options Preferences System Colours Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the System Colours option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the colours of the application workspace (or PFE desktop); the status bar and the toolbar

A thumbnail window at the top of the panel allows you to see the effect of your choices before they are applied, so that you can easily find a pleasing colour combination

-	Click the Use Colours set by control panel button if you want the colours to be those you have defined with Control Panel

-	Click the Use custom colours button if you want to specify your own colours. The list box below this button shows you the names of the various objects you can configure; you should take the following steps

1	Double click the name of the object whose colour you want to change in the list box, or select it and click the Change object colour button

2	This starts the standard colour selection dialog which allows you to choose the colour you want

3	Repeat the steps above for the other objects you want to change.

Note that although the colour selection dialog allows you to choose dithered colours, PFE will not use these, but will instead use the nearest solid colour. The sample areas will show you the exact background colour you have specified at the left and right edges; the text and the background immediately behind the text will show the colours that will actually be used.

Colour changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any changes that you have made, click the Cancel button.

Note that in this release of PFE the background colour of the pictures shown in the tool bar buttons cannot be changed from light grey.


Options Preferences Templates Panel
The Options Preferences Templates Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Templates option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options relevant to handling templates.

-	To specify the directory that PFE will search on startup for template files to be attached automatically, type the directory name or browse for it with the "..." button. Note that any directory name you type will be converted to an absolute pathname.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


The Browse For Template Directory Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your directories to find the directory that you wish PFE to scan for template files to be attached automatically on startup.

Steps

1	Select the drive you want to browse from the Drive list at the bottom right of the dialog.

2	Move around the directories on this drive by double-clicking on their names until the directory you want to choose is shown at the top left.

3	Click the OK box to close the dialog. The full path name of the directory showing at the top left will appear in the dialog panel.


Options Preferences Toolbar Panel
The Options Preferences Tool Bar Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Tool Bar option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to the toolbar

The Toolbar button size area lets you configure the size of the buttons that make up the toolbar:

-	Click the Auto button to have PFE set the size automatically to match your screen resolution. This is the default state.

-	Click the Small button to use the smallest set of buttons, normally used for 640 x 480 screens

-	Click the Medium button to use the medium sized set of buttons, normally used for 800 x 600 screens

-	Click the Large button to use the largest set of buttons, normally used for 1024 x 768 and larger screens

The Visibility area controls whether the tool bar appears on the screen or not

-	Click the Visible button if you want the tool bar to appear

-	Click the Hidden button if you do not want to see the tool bar

The Position area controls exactly where on the screen the tool bar will appear when it is visible

-	Click the Along top edge of main window button to show the tool bar as a horizontal strip at the top of PFE's main window

 -	Click the Along bottom edge of main window button to show the tool bar as a horizontal strip at the bottom of PFE's main window

-	Click the Down left edge of main window button to show the tool bar as a vertical strip at the left of PFE's main window

-	Click the Down right edge of main window button to show the tool bar as a vertical strip at the right of PFE's main window

-	Click the Free floating window button to show the tool bar as a small window that you can position anywhere within the PFE main window. In this form, the tool bar will appear above your edit windows.

If you wish to configure the tool bar colours, click the Set Colours button. This takes you to the System Colours panel of this dialog, and is equivalent to selecting the System Colours item from the list at the left of the dialog.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.

The toolbar buttons will not appear with the new size selected until you have exited and restarted PFE.


The Options Preferences User Help Files Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the User Help Files option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure up to five items that can be added on the end of the Help menu or on the Edit Context Menu.

The dialog panel allows you to specify new menu items, edit existing ones, and change the ordering of how they appear.

Defining a new menu item

To define a new help menu item, take the following steps:

1	Click the New button to start a dialog that allows you to define the details of the new menu item. The item will be added at the end of the list of those you've already defined

You can define up to 5 items to add to the menu

2	If you wish, use the Move up and Move down buttons to move the new item to the location you want it to occupy in the list

Editing an menu item

To change the details of an existing menu item, take the following steps:

1	Select the menu item in the list box

2	Click the Edit button to start a dialog that allows you to change the item's details

Deleting an existing menu item

To delete an existing menu item, take the following steps:

1	Select the menu item in the list

2	Click the Delete button

Re-Ordering menu items

The Help menu will show the added menu items in the order that they appear in this dialog panel. If you want to change the order of the items you have defined, take the following steps:

1	Select the menu item whose position you want to change in the list box at the top of the panel

2	Click the Move up button to move it one place up in the list, or the Move down button to move it one place down

Any changes you make to help menu items will not be stored until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. Until that time, you can abandon any changes that you don't want to keep by clicking on the Cancel button.


The New User Help File Dialog

This dialog allows you to set the details of a new help file to be added to the Help Menu

For each help file, you define the menu item, which is the string that appears on the menu; and the absolute pathname of the help file to be opened when you click on the menu item.

Steps

1	In the Help menu text edit control, type the string you want to appear on the menu. This can be up to 32 characters long.

To set a particular letter in the string as the hot key, so that you can quickly select the item from the keyboard, precede the letter with a "&" character. To include a "&" character itself in the string, you must specify it as "&&"

2	In the Associated help file edit control, type the name of the help file to be opened when the menu item is selected, or browse for it by clicking on the "..." button. Note that any file name you type will be converted to an absolute pathname.

3	Click the OK button to add the item to the end of the help menu


The Edit User Help File Dialog

This dialog allows you to edit an existing help file that you have added to the Help Menu

For each help file, you define the menu item, which is the string that appears on the menu; and the absolute pathname of the help file to be opened when you click on the menu item.

Steps

1	In the Help menu text edit control, type the string you want to appear on the menu. This can be up to 32 characters long.

To set a particular letter in the string as the hot key, so that you can quickly select the item from the keyboard, precede the letter with a "&" character. To include a "&" character itself in the string, you must specify it as "&&"

2	In the Associated help file edit control, type the name of the help file to be opened when the menu item is selected, or browse for it by clicking on the "..." button. Note that any file name you type will be converted to an absolute pathname.

3	Click the OK button to change the details of the help menu item


The Browse For Help File Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your disks and directories to find a Windows help file to be associated with an item that you are adding to the Help menu.

The files you choose here must have a file type of ".hlp". PFE does not support InfoViewer files of type ".mvb"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the help file; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on Open to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the help file is in

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on Open to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


Options Preferences Window Control Panel
The Options Preferences Window Control Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Window Control option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure various options that relate to how PFE creates file edit windows for you.

The Open file window maximized area lets you control the sizing of windows when you open files or use the File New command.

-	Check the Never box if you want file edit windows to appear initially in a restored state. The size and positioning will be controlled by Windows, and will suit the size of the main window and any other edit windows you have open. This is the default state.

-	Check the Always box if you want file edit windows to be created in a maximized state always. The windows will use the maximum amount of space available within the PFE main window

-	Check the If main window is maximized box if you want file edit windows to be created maximized if and only if the main PFE window is itself maximized

-	Check the If current window is maximized box if you want file edit windows created maximized if you both have at least one other window also in existence, and that window is itself currently maximized

-	Check the If main and current windows are maximized box if you want file edit windows created maximized if you both have at least one other window also in existence, and that window is currently maximized, and the PFE main window is itself maximized

The Edit window text margin area controls the size of the small margin that PFE leaves in edit windows at the extreme left of each line. This margin improves the general appearance of the window, and makes mouse selection action easier, by moving the first character of each line slightly away from the left border of the edit window.

-	Check the Size based on system font box if you want the margin size to be computed based on the average character width of the system font that your video driver is using. This option, which is the default, ensures that the margin is always a reasonable size, whatever you set your screen resolution to

-	Check the Set to n pixels box and type in a margin width in pixels if you wish to specify an exact width to be used. The value you can type can be in the range 0 to 20 pixels.

The rest of the dialog panel contains miscellaneous options:

-	Check the Use whole main window depth for vertical tiling if you want the Window Tile Vertical command to use the whole area of PFE's main window for the tiled file edit windows. By default, a small area at the bottom will be left clear to show file window icons.

-	Check the Minimize when last file window closes box if you want the main PFE window to become an icon when you close the last file edit window that you are using. By default, the state of the main window does not change

-	Check the Window Next/Previous select iconic windows box if you want the Window Next and Window Previous commands to activate windows that are iconic. By default, iconic windows are ignored by these commands.

Changes you make with this panel will not be actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Windows Managers Panel
The Options Preferences Windows Managers Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Windows Managers option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to configure the "Managers" items that appear on the Execute menu and normally run the various Windows manager programs such as File Manager and Explorer

To configure the menu items, take the following steps:

1	Select the menu item you want to configure from the Item on Execute menu list at the top of the panel

2	If you want the menu item to start the appropriate standard Windows manager program, click the Run standard Windows manager button. If you want to execute a specific command line, click the Run this command line button and type the command line you want executed

3	Click the Apply change button when you have finished configuring the menu item. The settings you have typed are noted, but are not actioned at this point

4	Repeat the steps above to configure other menu items as you require

Menu item changes you make with this panel will not be made permanent and actioned until you click either the Apply Now or OK buttons in the main dialog area to the left. If you want to abandon any alterations that you have made, click the Cancel button.


Options Preferences Window Position Reuse Panel
The Options Preferences Window Position Reuse Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Window Position Reuse option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to specify how and when PFE should position any windows you open on files that you've edited before.

PFE allows you to treat files differently, depending on the method you use to open them.

Files opened from the Most-Recently-Used list

The File Menu MRU List area allows you to configure what happens when you open files using the list of those you've accessed most recently from the File Menu, or, for the 32-Bit Edition only, from the "Recent Files" folder in the Control Station. It does not affect files opened by other methods.

-	If you click the Never button, PFE will not use any previously recorded information. The edit window will be positioned and sized by Windows itself, using default value that normally prevent it hiding other windows. The caret will be positioned at the start of the first line of the file

-	If you click the Set in current session only button, PFE will use any recorded information to open the window showing the file at the same position and size as when you last edited it. The caret will be positioned at the exact location it had in the file when you last closed it. However, selecting this button means that PFE will not re-use the window position of any file that you have used a previous editing session but not yet in this session.

-	If you click the Set in this and previous sessions button, PFE will use any recorded information to open the window showing the file at the same position and size as when you last edited the file. The caret will be positioned at the exact location it had in the file when you last closed it.  Selecting this button means that PFE can re-use any window position saved from a previous editing session.

Files opened from dialogs

The File Opening Dialogs area allows you to configure what happens when you open files with the File Open and File View commands. It does not affect files opened by other methods.

-	If you click the Default to using recorded positions button, then the dialogs will normally open the files using any recorded information available. The window will be opened showing the file at the same position and size as when you last edited it. The caret will be positioned at the exact location it had in the file when you last closed it.

-	If you click the Default to not using recorded positions button, then the dialogs will normally open the files without any recorded information available. The edit window will be positioned and sized by Windows itself, using default value that normally prevent it hiding other windows. The caret will be positioned at the start of the first line of the file

Note that the options here affect the default setting in the various dialogs; you can override this as wish within the dialogs themselves.

Files opened from the command line

The Command line area allows you to configure what happens to files that you specify on the command line when you start PFE. It does not affect files opened by other methods.

-	If you click the Default to using recorded positions button, then PFE will normally open the files using any recorded information available. The window will be opened showing the file at the same position and size as when you last edited it. The caret will be positioned at the exact location it had in the file when you last closed it.

-	If you click the Default to not using recorded positions button, then PFE will normally open the files without any recorded information available. The edit window will be positioned and sized by Windows itself, using default value that normally prevent it hiding other windows. The caret will be positioned at the start of the first line of the file

Note that the options here affect the default action of the command line. You can reverse the default by using the "/w" command line option.


Options Preferences Working Directory Panel
The Options Preferences Working Directory Panel

This panel appears at the right of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command when you select the Working Directory option from the list box on the left.

It allows you to specify how PFE should determine its current working directory when it starts up

-	Click the Set by the shortcut or Program Manager icon if you wish PFE to start with the working directory as the one you have set for it in Windows.

-	Click The one last used in the previous session if you want PFE to track what directory is current, and to start each new session in the same directory that you finished the previous session in

-	Click Specified here and enter a specific absolute pathname to a directory if you want PFE to start in a specified directory. You can click the "…" browse button to start a browsing dialog to find the directory if you wish.


The Printer Font Dialog

This dialog allows you to choose the printer font that PFE will use to print text on the currently-selected printer, whose name is shown at the top of the dialog. You can choose any fixed pitch font that the printer supports.

Steps

1	Select the name of the font you want to use from the Font list on the left.

2	If you want some other style than plain text, such as italic or bold, select this from the Font Style list in the centre of the dialog.

3	Select the size of the font, in points, from the Size list at the right

Note that although the list usually shows numbers in the range 8 to 28, you can in fact select fonts as small as 2 points by typing the number you want explicitly rather than selecting it from the list. Note also that some fonts are available only in specific sizes; if you select another size, Windows will use the closest available size.

4	Select the type face effects you want from the Effects area:

Check the Strikeout box to have the text printed with a strikeout line through it

Check the Underline box for underlined text

5	If your printer supports colour, select the type colour from the Color box.

6	Click the OK button to select the font and close the dialog.

PFE will use the font details you've chosen whenever you print to that printer. The details are recorded and become the defaults for the printer.

The details of the printer font set up for any other printers will not be affected.

Note that some printers support different sets of fonts, depending on whether you are printing in portrait or landscape mode. If you change the paper orientation you should always check that the font you wish to use is still available.


The Exit Windows Dialog

This dialog allows you to close PFE and also terminate Windows 3 at the same time.

Steps

1	Select the way you want to close Windows

Click the Exit To DOS button to close Windows and return to a DOS prompt

Click the Exit And Restart Windows button to close Windows and then automatically restart it with the same options that you used previously

Click the Exit And Reboot System button to close Windows and perform a warm reboot of your system

Click the Exit, Run DOS Command And Restart button to close Windows, execute a single DOS program or batch file, then restart Windows. If you choose this button, enter the command line to run in the edit control below it. Note that you must give a full pathname to the .EXE or .BAT file. The Browse button will let you browse your disks and directories for the program to run.

If you're running the 16-Bit Edition in the Win16 subsystem of Windows NT, all four options will simply log you off.

2	Click the OK button. If any of the files you're editing have been changed, PFE will ask if you want to save the changes; you can save them, discard them, or abandon the closedown altogether.

 Note that if you select the option to run a DOS command and restart Windows, and the executable is not found, or cannot be run for any reason, you will see no notification of the error.


The Exit Windows NT Dialog

This dialog allows you to close PFE and either log off or close Windows NT

Steps

1	Select the Windows NT closedown action you want to perform

Click the Logoff User Only button to simply end all the applications you've started and log you off

Click the Logoff User And Shutdown System button to act as above, then close Windows down so that you can power off your system

Click the Logoff User And Reboot System button to log you off, close down Windows and perform a warm reboot of your system

You should possess the appropriate level of privilege for all but the first action.

2	If you want to force running applications that do not respond to close automatically, rather than having Windows prompt you for each one, check the Force Other Apps To Close box.

3	Click the OK button. If any of the files you're editing have been changed, PFE will ask if you want to save the changes; you can save them, discard them, or abandon the closedown altogether.


The Exit Windows 95 Dialog

This dialog allows you to close PFE and either log off or close Windows 95 or Windows 98

Steps

1	Select the Windows 95 or Windows 98 closedown action you want to perform

Click the Logoff only button to simply end all the applications you've started and log you off. If you have not logged on, this option won't be available

Click the Shutdown your computer button to log you off if you're logged on, and stop Windows. Once shutdown is complete, you'll be able to power off your system

Click the Restart your computer button to log you off of necessary, stop Windows and perform a warm reboot of your system

2	Click the OK button. If any of the files you're editing have been changed, PFE will ask if you want to save the changes; you can save them, discard them, or abandon the closedown altogether.


The Browse Dialog

This dialog allows you to browse your disks and directories to find a file name that can be used by its parent dialog, where appropriate, or directly by a menu command.

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the file; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on Open to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the template file is in

2	Click on the name of the file to select it

3	Click on OK to choose the file

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


The Select Window Dialog

This dialog allows you to select between many open edit windows. The list at the top of the dialog shows the window captions of some or all of the windows.

Steps

1	From the Windows Showing area, select the sort of window you want to see in the list:

Check the Named Files box to see windows showing files that have associated file names

Check the Unnamed Files box to see windows showing files that do not have associated file names

Check the Templates box to see windows showing templates

Check the Command Output box to see windows showing the output from DOS commands

2	If you want to see only windows containing changes that have not yet been saved, check the Changed Windows Only box

3	Either double-click the left mouse button on the name of the window you want to activate, or select it and press the OK button

The settings of the check boxes are remembered, and become the default for the next time you use the dialog.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you may find the Control Station to be a more convenient way to select windows when you're working with a large number of files.


The Most Recently Used Files Dialog

This dialog allows you to select a file from the list of those you've used most recently, and open it.

Steps

1	If you want to change the order in which the file names are presented in the list at the top of the dialog, click the appropriate button in the Sort Order area:

Click the Last-used First button to order the list so that the file you opened most recently is at the top

Click the Alphabetical button to sort the list in alphabetical order

2	If you want to see the full path name of every file in the list, check the Show Full Pathnames in list box. If this box is un-checked, PFE will shorten filenames as far as possible, making them relative to the current directory.

3	If you want to open the file in read only mode, check the Read only box

4	Normally, PFE will attempt to create the window showing the file that you open at the same size and location as it had when you last worked with it; the caret will also be positioned in the file at the place it was when the file was last closed. If you want to prevent this happening, so that the window is opened at the default position and size, with the caret at the left of the first line, check the Do not use saved position box.

5	To open a file from the list, either double-click its name in the list with the left mouse button, or select the name and press the Open selected file button.

6	If the file you want to open turns out not to be in the list, you can click the Open other file button to start the dialog that lets you select from all your files. This is equivalent to closing the current dialog and using the File Open command

The settings of the check boxes and sort buttons are remembered, and become the default for the next time you use the dialog.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you may find the Control Station to be a more efficient way to select files from those you've used recently.


The Colour Selection Dialog

This dialog, which is a standard part of Windows, is used by PFE in circumstances where you can choose a colour. The dialog allows you to select from a standard set of colours; to select an arbitrary colour from a colour palette; or to set up your own collection of commonly-used colours

Note that PFE does not support the use of dithered colours. You may select dithered colours in this dialog, but PFE will automatically convert them into the nearest solid colour.

To choose a predefined colour

To choose from a colour that has already been defined, take the following steps:

1	Click on the colour you want to select, from either the Basic colours panel at the top left, or the Custom Colours panel below it. A highlight box will appear round the selected colour

2	Click the OK button

To define a custom colour

If the colour you want to choose is not in the set of basic colours, you can define an arbitrary colour of any shade you wish. Note that, with most displays, all the available solid colours will be present in the basic colours set.

Take the following steps:

1	Click the Define custom colours button. The dialog expands, and shows you a colour selection area to the right, in which you can select the colour you want.

2	Click on one of the colour boxes in the Custom colours area at the lower left of the dialog. The colour you select will be shown here for later selection

3	Choose the colour you want from the area on the right. You can select the colour from the palette by moving the cross-hair cursor inside the colour square and moving the intensity slider at far right up and down; or you can type in explicit values in the Red, Green, Blue, Hue, Saturation and Luminosity edit controls.

4	The colour value you are selecting appears in the small rectangle at the bottom left of the main colour square. The left side shows you the actual colour; the right hand side shows the nearest matching solid colour, which is the value PFE will use. Normally the exact colour value will be chosen, but you can force selection of the solid equivalent by double-clicking within the area that shows it

5	Click the Add to custom colours button to set the chosen colour value in the Custom colours panel on the left. The colour is now available for you to choose as described in the first set of steps above

The custom colours you define are recorded, and will be available for selection whenever you start the dialog again.


The Macro Librarian Dialog

The Macro Librarian dialog handles all the tasks needed to create, maintain and use libraries of keyboard macros.

The dialog has a slightly different appearance, and slightly different operational use, in the 16-Bit and 32-Bit Editions.

In the 32-Bit Edition

Here the Macro Librarian dialog appears as a single display window, with a number of push buttons.

The display window shows you all the details of your macro libraries and their contents.

Initially, each macro library that is attached for use appears in the list. If the library contains any macros, you'll see a small "+" icon beside the name on the left; clicking on this icon will expand the display, and will list the names of all the macros within the library on the lines below.

Thus the single window allows you to click and select either a library, or any macro within the library.

You can obtain a context menu by clicking the right mouse button on either a library name or a macro name; this is equivalent to clicking the Library and Macro buttons to the right, and allows you to perform all actions quickly and simply.

In the 16-Bit Edition

Here the Macro Librarian dialog appears as a two display windows, one above the other, with a number of push buttons.

The upper window shows you the names of the macro libraries that are attached for use. When you click on any library name in this list, the names of all the macros within the library are shown in the lower window.

For operations on libraries, you should click and select the library from the upper window.

For operations on macros, you should first click and select the library from the upper window, then click and select the specific macro from the lower window.

The push buttons to the right of the dialog function identically in the 16-Bit and 32-Bit Editions.

Clicking on the Library button shows a drop-down menu from which you can select library-related options; clicking on the Macro button shows a drop-down menu from which you can select macro-related options.

The Macro Librarian dialog, unlike most of the dialogs that PFE uses, allows you to work on other operations while it is showing. Normally, the dialog will remain showing until you click the Close button to dismiss it.

However, you may find it convenient to have the dialog automatically close when you use it to edit a macro or to play a macro. You can use the "Macros" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command to specify this.

Creating A Keyboard Macro Library

Deleting A Keyboard Macro Library

Attaching A Keyboard Macro Library

Detaching A Keyboard Macro Library

Saving A Keyboard Macro Library To Disk

Creating A Keyboard Macro In A Keyboard Macro Library

Editing A Keyboard Macro In A Keyboard Macro Library

Binding A Keyboard Macro Library Macro To A Key

Unbinding A Keyboard Macro Library Macro From A Key

Deleting A Keyboard Macro Library Macro

Renaming A Keyboard Macro Library Macro


Creating A Keyboard Macro Library

Before a keyboard macro library can be used, you first must create it using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

Steps

1	Click on the Library button, and select Create Library from the drop-down menu that will appear

2	Choose a name for the library and the directory you want to keep it in from the browse dialog that appears

The library will be created on your disk as an empty library file. It will also automatically be attached, and will be available for immediate use.


The Create Macro Library Dialog

This dialog allows you to create a new, empty macro library on disk.

A macro library must have a file type of ".mlb"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to create the macro library in; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the macro library in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to create the macro library

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to create the macro library in

2	Type the name of the macro library in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to create the macro library

When you click on OK, PFE will create and initialise the macro library on your disk. It will then attach the macro library, bringing it into memory so that you can use it immediately.


Deleting A Keyboard Macro Library

Deleting a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

Steps

1	Click on the library name in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click on the Library button, and select Delete Library from the drop-down menu that will appear

The Delete Library item on the drop-down menu will not be available if

-	Any of the macros within the library are bound to commands

-	Any of the macros within the library are currently being edited or played


Attaching A Keyboard Macro Library

Before an exisiting keyboard macro library can be used, you first must attach it using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

Steps

1	Click on the Library button, and select Attach Library from the drop-down menu that will appear

2	Select the macro library, which must have a file name extension of ".mlb" to be attached from the browse dialog that appears

The library will be loaded into memory and initialised for use.

Note that if a macro library contains any macros that are bound to commands, PFE will automatically attach the library for you at the start of every session.


The Attach Macro Library Dialog

This dialog allows you to attach a macro library, loading it into memory and making the macros it contains ready for use.

All macro libraries must have a filename extension of ".mlb"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the macro library you want to attach; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Click on the name of the macro library you want to attach to select it

3	Click on Open to attach the library

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that the macro library is in

2	Select the macro library you want to attach in the File Name list box.

3	Click the OK box to attach the library

If you prefer, you can simply type the name of the file to open directly into the File Name edit control rather than use the browse facilities.


Detaching A Keyboard Macro Library

Detaching a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

Steps

1	Click on the library name in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click on the Library button, and select Detach Library from the drop-down menu that will appear

The Detach Library item on the drop-down menu will not be available if

-	Any of the macros within the library are bound to commands

-	Any of the macros within the library are currently being edited or played


Saving A Keyboard Macro Library To Disk

Saving a keyboard macro library to disk is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You can either save the macro library to disk with its current name; or you can save it to a file of a different name, leaving the original file unchanged.

To save the library to its current file

1	Click on the library name in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click on the Library button, and select Save Library from the drop-down menu that will appear

This option will only be available if the library has been changed in memory

To save the library to a different file

1	Click on the library name in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click on the Library button, and select Save Library As from the drop-down menu that will appear

3	Select the name of the library file you want to save the library contents to from the browse dialog that appears. Remember that a macro library file must have a file name extension of ".mlb"

When you save a macro library to a file of a new name, you will need to attach that file specifically in order to make it available


The Save Macro Library Dialog
The Save Macro Library As Dialog

This dialog allows to save the contents of a macro library that is currently attached to disk in a file of a different name.

All macro libraries must have a filename extension of ".mlb"

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to save the library into; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the library in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing library from the list

3	Click on Save to save the library

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to save the library into

2	Type the name of the library in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing library from the list

3	Click the OK box to save the library


Creating A Keyboard Macro In A Keyboard Macro Library

Creating a keyboard macro within a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You must first have attached the macro library in which you want to create the macro.

Steps

1	Click on the name of the library in which you wish to create the macro in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click the Macro button and select Create Macro from the drop-down menu that appears

3	Type the name you've chosen for your new macro in the dialog that appears

PFE will now create the macro in the in-store copy of the macro library, and open an edit window for you type in the contents of the macro. When you've finished, Use the File Save command to compile the macro and save it.

The keyboard macro will now have been placed in the copy of the macro library that is within your computer's memory. You can use it in this state, but it has not been permanently recorded on disk. In order to make the macro permanent within the library, you should save the macro library back to disk.


The Macro Name Dialog
The Create Macro Dialog

This dialog allows you to specify the name of a keyboard macro that you're creating in a macro library

Steps

1	Type the name of the macro in the Macro name edit control

2	Click on OK


Editing A Keybard Macro In A Keyboard Macro Library
Editing A Keyboard Macro In A Keyboard Macro Library

Editing a keyboard macro within a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You must first have attached the macro library holding the macro.

Steps

1	Click on the name of the library in which you wish to create the macro in the main window (32-Bit Edition) or the upper window (16-Bit Edition) to select it

2	Click the Macro button and select Edit Macro from the drop-down menu that appears. PFE will open a macro edit window containing the macro

3	Make the changes you want to the macro

4	Use the File Save command to compile the changed macro and save it.

The keyboard macro will now have been placed in the copy of the macro library that is within your computer's memory. You can use it in this state, but it has not been permanently recorded on disk. In order to make the macro permanent within the library, you should save the macro library back to disk.


Binding A Keyboard Macro Library Macro To A Key

Binding a keyboard macro within a keyboard macro library to a command, so that you can execute the macro from a key sequence, is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You must first have attached the macro library holding the macro.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Click on the "+" icon to the left of the name of the library containing the macro to show the list of macros in the library

2	Click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Bind macro from the drop-down menu that appears

4	Bind the macro to the chosen command in the dialog that appears

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	In the upper window, click on the name of the library containing the macro to be bound

2	In the lower window, click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Bind macro from the drop-down menu that appears

4	Bind the macro to the chosen command in the dialog that appears

Once you've bound a macro to a command, it will remain bound until you unbind it. PFE will automatically attach any library that contains a bound macro automatically at the start of every session so that bound macros are always available.


 The Bind Macro Dialog

This dialog allows you to bind a keyboard macro that is held in a macro library to a PFE macro execution command so that it can be played when you type a key sequence.

Steps

1	Select the name of the macro execution command from the list of those still unused

2	Click on OK to bind the macro to the command

PFE will record the binding information permanently, and from this point on the macro will be bound to the selected command until you unbind it.

Once a macro is bound to a command, you can run it by typing the appropriate key sequence.


Unbinding A Keyboard Macro Library Macro From A Key

Unbinding a keyboard macro within a keyboard macro library from a command, so that it is no longer executable from a key sequence, is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Click on the "+" icon to the left of the name of the library containing the macro to show the list of macros in the library

2	Click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Unbind macro from the drop-down menu that appears

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	In the upper window, click on the name of the library containing the macro to be bound

2	In the lower window, click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Unbind macro from the drop-down menu that appears


Deleting A Keyboard Macro From A Library

Deleting a keyboard macro from a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You must first have attached the macro library holding the macro.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Click on the "+" icon to the left of the name of the library containing the macro to show the list of macros in the library

2	Click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Delete macro from the drop-down menu that appears

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	In the upper window, click on the name of the library containing the macro to be bound

2	In the lower window, click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Delete macro from the drop-down menu that appears

The keyboard macro will have been deleted from the copy of the macro library that is held in your computer's memory; but the deletion will not yet have been made permanent on disk. To do this, you will need to save the macro library to disk explicitly.

The Delete Macro item on the drop-down menu will not be available if

-	The macro is bound to a command

-	The macro is currently being edited


Renaming A Keyboard Macro In A Library

Renaming a keyboard macro from a keyboard macro library is done using the dialog started by the Macro Librarian command.

You must first have attached the macro library holding the macro.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Click on the "+" icon to the left of the name of the library containing the macro to show the list of macros in the library

2	Click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Rename macro from the drop-down menu that appears

4	Enter the new name for the macro in the dialog that is started

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	In the upper window, click on the name of the library containing the macro to be bound

2	In the lower window, click on the name of the macro to select it

3	Click the Macro button and select Rename macro from the drop-down menu that appears

4	Enter the new name for the macro in the dialog that is started

The keyboard macro will have been renamed in your computer's memory; but the change will not yet have been made permanent on disk. To do this, you will need to save the macro library to disk explicitly.


The Rename Macro Dialog

This dialog allows you to specify a new name for  keyboard macro stored in a macro library.

Steps

1	Type the new name for the macro in the Macro name edit control. The name must not be the same as any other macro in the macro library

2	Cick on OK

PFE updates only the details of the library that are held in your computer's memory in this operation. To make the changes permanent, you must save the macro library to disk with the Macro Librarian.


The Add New Association Dialog

This dialog allows you to associate a new file type with PFE.

Steps

1	Type the extension to associate into the File extension edit control; make sure that you include the leading "." character

2	Click on OK to associate files with this extension with PFE.

In versions of PFE prior to 0.07.001, it was necessary for you to create associations outside of PFE, using File Manager or Windows Explorer. These associations will not be shown in this dialog, and you should redefine them as described for this and future versions.


Audible Alert Dialog
The Audible Alert Dialog

This dialog allows you to define that is played to alert you when a DOS command that you have started with the Execute DOS Command To Window or Execute Repeat DOS Command To Window commands.

The sound is also used when you run DOS commands that you have added to the Execute Menu with the "Execute Menu" panel of the Options Preferences command.

Steps

-	To use the standard Windows system sound, click the Use the default system sound button

-	To play an audio (".wav") file of your choice, click the Play this audio (.wav) file button, and type the full pathname of the file into the edit control below. If you wish, you can browse for the file with the "…" browse button.

Once you have chosen the audio file, you can test it with the Test sound and Stop test buttons.


New Configuration Set Dialog
The New Configuration Set Dialog

This dialog allows you to create a new registry configuration set to hold the configuration settings that you establish for PFE.

Steps

1	Type the configuration set name into the Name of new configuration set edit control

2	Click on OK to create a new, empty configuration set with this name


Copy Configuration Set Dialog
The Copy Configuration Set Dialog

This dialog allows you to copy the contents of an existing registry configuration set into another, creating a new set if required.

At the top of the dialog you will see the name of the configuration set whose data you are copying; below this, you'll see a list showing the names of all the configuration sets that currently exist.

Steps

1	Either select the name of an existing configuration set from the list; or type the name of a new set to have PFE create it.

2	Click on OK to perform the copy. PFE will create the output configuration set if it does not exist.

You will not be able to perform the copy if:

-	The output set is the one you are currently using

-	The output set is currently being used by another instance of PFE


The Save Active Keyboard Recording Dialog

This dialog allows to save the active_keyboard recording to disk in a file with a name of your choice

Saved keyboard recordings must have a filename extension of ".kbm"

You cannot save the active keyboard recording into a keyboard macro library with this dialog

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory you want to save the recording into; you'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click on Save to save the active keyboard recording

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory that you want to save the recording into

2	Type the name of the file in the File name edit control, or select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to save the active keyboard recording


The Load Active Keyboard Recording Dialog

This dialog allows you to load the active_keyboard recording from a file on disk created by the Macro Save Recording or Macro Save Recording As commands.

Saved keyboard recordings must have a filename extension of ".kbm"

You cannot load macros contained in keyboard macro libraries with this dialog

The appearance of the dialog will vary between the different editions of PFE and the different Operating Systems they run under.

For Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 or later

Steps

1	Use the Look in list to move to the directory containing the file you want to load. You'll see the files the directory contains in the large list window below.

2	Select the name of the file from the list

3	Click on Open to load the active keyboard recording from the disk file

For Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51

Steps

1	Use the Drive and Directory list boxes to select the disk drive and the directory containing the file you want to load

2	Select the name of an existing file from the list

3	Click the OK box to load the active keyboard recording from the disk file

Any recording that you've made previously will be overwritten by the data loaded from disk.


Save Changes?
Save Changes To File?

You have changed this file since the last time you saved it to disk. Before PFE closes it, you have a chance to update the disk copy.

Yes	Click this button to save the contents of the window to disk. If the file hasn't yet got a name, you'll see a dialog asking you to specify the file to save to.

No	Click this button to irretrievably discard the changes you've made since the last save.

Cancel	Click this button to abandon the operation completely and return to editing the window.


Save Changes To Template?

You have changed this template since the last time you stored it in the in-memory copy of a template file. Before PFE closes it, you have a chance to update the in-memory template file.

Yes	Click this button to save the contents of the window to an in-memory copy of a template file. If the template hasn't yet got a name, you'll see a dialog asking you to specify what to call it, and what template file you want to store it in.

No	Click this button to irretrievably discard the changes you've made since the last save.

Cancel	Click this button to abandon the operation completely and return to editing the window.

Storing a template in an in-memory copy of a template file does not update the template file on disk; you need to use the Template Save File command for this.


Cannot Detach Template File

You cannot detach a template file if you are editing one or more of the templates it contains.

Steps

1	For each of the windows containing such templates, use the Template Store or Template Store As commands to save changes you want to keep, then close the window with the Window Close command.

2	Preserve the changes to the template file itself with the Template Save File command

You will then be able to detach the template file.


Invalid Line Number

You have entered an invalid line number in the Line To Go To edit control. Check that what you have typed is either a numeric string, or is the word end.

If you have typed a number preceded by either + or - to specify a line number relative to the line that the caret is now in, check that the resulting line number is not less than 1, or greater than the number of the last line in the file


Add "All Files" Filter

The file filters that are defined in the "File Filters" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command allow you to restrict the filename shown in various file opening dialogs to those matching the patterns you define.

If you don't define any filters at all, then PFE will automatically show all filenames in these dialogs for you.

However, once you define some filters, you take complete responsibility for what the file opening dialogs show. PFE will not automatically add an option allowing you to see all your files; it's up to you to define a suitable filter (which should include the filename pattern "*.*") to enable you to do this.

However, what you can do here is to have PFE add this suitable filter to the end of the list on your behalf by clicking the Yes button. If you click on No, PFE will not add an entry.


Invalid ASCII Code

You have entered an invalid ASCII code number in the dialog. Make sure that what you type is a decimal number, in the range 1 to 255.


Default Printer Not Configured

Whenever you exit from PFE, the name of the printer you last used is recorded in its initialisation file. This device is used as PFE's default printer the next time you start the program.

While starting this session, PFE has detected that the printer/port combination you used last time is no longer configured in your system. PFE will now use the Windows default printer unless you specify otherwise. You can check that this is what you want, and correct it if not, by using the File Print Setup command.


Replaying The Active Keyboard Recording While Recording It

You have attempted to replay the active keyboard recording while you are recording it, which is not permitted.

You can choose to switch off the keyboard macro recorder now by clicking the No button. If you click the Yes button PFE will continue to record your keystrokes. This failed action will not be stored in the active keyboard recording, and will not be repeated when you replay it.


Create A Further Backup Level

PFE has detected that the file you are about to overwrite in this operation is already in a directory that contains backups of overwritten files. You may not wish to take a further backup of the file before it is overwritten.

If you click the Yes button, PFE will continue as normal and take a backup copy of the file before saving the new data to it. This will involve creating a new sub-directory (called by default "$PFEBK") to contain it; depending on how deep your directory structure is at this point, the full path name of the directory, or of the backed up file within it, may exceed the limits imposed by the operating system.

If you click the No button, PFE will not take a backup copy of the existing file, but will simply overwrite it with the new data. The current contents of the disk file will be irrevocably lost.

If you click the Cancel button, the save operation will be abandoned and the disk file will not be changed.

Taking Backups Of Saved Files


Clear Undo Actions

This command will clear the details of all the previous editing actions that you have recorded for the current file.

If you click the NO button, PFE will abandon the action and no change will be made

If you click the YES button, PFE will clear the details it has recorded. This will result in some memory being freed for other uses (depending on what editing actions you have performed); but you will not be able to undo any changes you have made up to this point.


Create New File

A file that you have named on the PFE command line does not exist, and PFE is giving you the opportunity to have it created automatically.

Check the file name shown carefully and ensure that the file name and the directory path are as you intended. Then:

If you click the No button, the open operation will fail.

If you click the Yes button, PFE will create a new, empty file on your disk, and will open it for you.


Context Help Not Available

PFE is unable to give context help on the item selected in the current window, because you have not specified the help file that is to be searched.

You can specify the help file with the "User Help Files" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.


The Status Bar

This area of the screen is the status bar, which provides you with useful information on the state of PFE itself and on the current file.

For a full description of the status bar, select the About the status bar topic at the end of this item.

To see interactive help on any of the boxes within the status bar, use the Help Screen/Menu Help command to turn on interactive help, and click the left mouse button once with the box of interest.

About the Status Bar


Status Bar - File Position Area

This area of the status bar reports the position of the caret in the current file, in terms of the line number within the file, and the column within the line.

Double-clicking the left mouse button in this area will execute an Edit Goto Line command, which starts a dialog that lets you move quickly to an arbitrary line in the file.

If you don't have any files open, this area shows you the PFE's version number.


Status Bar - Lines In File Area

This area of the status bar tells you how many lines there are within the current file. If you don't have any files open, it will be blank.

When a file is being loaded, the number in this area will steadily increase, to show you how many lines have been processed so far. When you save a file, the number will decrease to zero, showing you how many lines are still to be written to disk


Status Bar - File Change Marker

This area of the status bar tells you whether the current file has been changed. If it has, the area will display a '#' character; if not, or if you don't have any files open, the area will be blank.


Status Bar - File Read-Only Marker

This area of the status bar tells you whether the current file has been made read-only, and so cannot be altered.

If the file is read-only, the area will show the characters "RO". If you are able to change the file, it will show "RW".

Double-clicking the left mouse button in this area will change the file's state from read-only to writable and vice-versa.


Status Bar - Prefix Key Area

This area of the status bar tells you whether you have started a two-key command sequence by typing one of the configured prefix keys.

If you have, the area shows you the mnemonic of the prefix key you've used. If you haven't started a two-key command, or you have no files open, the area will be blank.


Status Bar - Macro Recording Area
Status Bar - Active Keyboard Recording Area

This area of the status bar tells you whether keystrokes are currently being recorded in the active keyboard recording.

If they are, the area will contain the text "Rec on". If you're not recording keystrokes, it will contain the text "Rec off".

Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will turn recording on or off.


Status Bar - Text Wrap Area

This area of the status bar tells you whether text wrapping is active in the current window.

If wrapping is not turned on, the area will show the text "No wrap". Otherwise, it will show the word "Wrap", followed by the number of the window column at which wrapping will occur.

The area will be blank if you don't have any files open.

Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will turn wrapping on or off.


Status Bar - Save Format Area

This area of the status bar tells you the format in which the current file will be saved if you write it to disk.

If the area shows the text "DOS", the file will be written with each line terminated by a Carriage Return byte and a Line Feed byte (CR-LF), which is the standard for MS-DOS files.

If the area shows the text "Unix", the file will be written in Unix format, with each line ended by a single Line Feed byte (LF).

The area will be blank if you don't have a file open.

Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will change the format.


Status Bar - Typing Mode Area

This area of the status bar tells you the typing mode of the current window.

If the area shows the text "INS", characters you type will be inserted, displacing any characters already in the file to the right. If it shows the text "OVR", characters you type will overwrite those already there.

Double clicking the left mouse button in this area will change between the two modes.


Status Bar - Num Lock Area

This area of the status bar tells you the current state of the Num Lock key. It will show the text "NUM" if Num lock is active.


Status Bar - Caps Lock Area

This area of the status bar tells you the current state of the Caps Lock key. It will show the text "CAP" if caps lock is active.


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform actions such as creating a new file edit window. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Ctrl or Shift keys down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes a File New command to create a new, empty edit window

Left click + Shift

This executes a Template New command to create a new, empty template window

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform actions such as opening existing files. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Ctrl or Shift keys down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes a File Open command to open an existing file for editing

Left click + Shift

This executes a File View command to open an existing file in read-only  mode

Left click + Ctrl

This executes a Template Edit command to edit an existing template

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform actions such as writing files to disk. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes a File Save command to write the current file to disk. If the current file is a template rather than a file, a Template Store command is executed to save it to a template file.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly cut the selected text in the current window to the clipboard. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes an Edit Cut command to delete the highlighted text from the current file and transfer it to the clipboard.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly copy the selected text in the current window to the clipboard. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes an Edit Copy command to copy the highlighted text to the clipboard. The current file is not changed by this operation.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly paste the contents of the clipboard into the current window. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes an Edit Paste command to paste the clipboard into the current window at the position of the caret.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform search actions in the current file. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the  Shift key down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes an Edit Find command to show you the dialog that controls searching for text

Left click + Shift

This repeats exactly the last action you performed with the Edit Find command

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform text replacement actions. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Shift key down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes an  that starts the dialog controlling text replacement actions

Left click + Shift

This repeats exactly the last text replacement operation you performed with the Edit Replace command

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly undo the last edit action. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes an Edit Undo command to reverse the effects of the last edit action you performed.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly insert a template into the current window. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes a Template Insert command, which will show you a dialog from which you can select the template to insert.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly perform actions related to keyboard macros. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Shift key down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes a Macro Start Recorder command to start recording if not already started; or a Macro Stop Recorder command to stop it.

Left click + Shift

This executes a Macro Replay command to replay the last-recorded keyboard macro.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly start a DOS command processor session. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

This executes an Execute DOS Prompt command to start a command shell

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly initiate DOS commands such as compilers, capturing their output in a window. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Shift key down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes an Execute DOS Command To Window command, which shows you a dialog allowing you to specify the command line to be executed.

Left click + Shift

This executes an Execute Repeat DOS Command To Window command to repeat the last command executed with Execute DOS Command To Window.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly launch Windows applications that run independently of PFE. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once

Left click alone

This executes an Execute Launch Application command, which starts a dialog allowing to specify the command line for the application to be run.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly turn line numbering on or off in the current window. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once.

Line numbering will be turned off it is currently on, and on if it is currently off.

About the Tool Bar


Tool Bar Button

 This tool bar button lets you quickly initiate printer-related actions. To use it, position the mouse cursor on the button and click the left button once, possibly holding the Shift key down at the same time.

Left click alone

This executes a File Print  command which starts a dialog allowing you to print the current file.

Left click + Shift

This executes a File Print Setup command which starts a dialog allowing you to configure details of the printer to use.

Left click + Ctrl + Shift

This executes a File Print All command which starts a dialog letting you print all the files you are currently editing

About the Tool Bar


Recently Used File

This menu item contains the name of a file that you have opened recently. PFE maintains a list of the files you open, and automatically adds them to the end of the File Menu.

Clicking the left mouse button on one of these file name items will open the file for editing.

You can configure the size and appearance of the list with the "MRU List" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also access files you've used recently from the Control Station.


More Files/Recent Files

This menu item is part of the list that PFE maintains of files that you have opened recently. You can configure the number of files that PFE records, and if you set this number to more than PFE can display on the end of the File Menu, this menu item will be added.

Clicking the left mouse button on the command will start a dialog that will allow you to choose any file from the complete list of those opened recently.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also access files you've used recently from the Control Station.


Active Window

This menu item contains the title of one of the windows that are currently open. PFE automatically adds the titles to the end of the Window Menu.

Clicking the left mouse button on one of these window titles will make the corresponding window active.

If you have more than 9 windows open, an additional More Windows item will appear on the end of the menu; selecting this item shows you a dialog that lets you select from all the titles.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also select windows using the Control Station


More Windows

This menu item is added to the end of the Window Menu whenever you have more than 9 windows open simultaneously.

Selecting this item shows you a dialog that lets you select from the titles of all the open windows and make one of them the active window.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can also select windows using the Control Station


Exit Windows

This system menu item allows you to terminate PFE, and to shut down your Windows system in a variety of ways.

The command starts a dialog that allows you to specify various closedown options


Save Screen

This system menu item allows you to start a Windows screen saver immediately, instead of having to wait for the configured inactivity period.

This option will not work with screen savers that do not use the standard Windows screen-saver interfaces to function.


The System Menu

The system menu contains a number of standard commands that allow you to manipulate PFE's main window and change to other applications. The items at the start of the list are common to all Windows applications.

Close

Terminates your PFE session

Move

Allows you to move PFE's main window with the keyboard cursor keys

Size

Allows you to resize PFE's main window with the keyboard cursor keys

Minimize

Makes PFE's main window into an icon

Maximize

Expands PFE's main window so it fills the entire screen

Restore

If PFE's main window is an icon, restores it to its previous windowed state

Switch To

Starts the Windows Task Manager to allow you to shift to another application


Execute Menu Item

This menu item contains one of the commands that you've added to the Execute Menu using the "Execute Menu" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

Clicking on the menu item will run the command that you have defined; this can be a command that starts an application that runs independently of PFE, or one whose output is captured and shown in a window on completion.


File Position Specifications

The Edit Goto Line command, the EditGotoLine()  DDE command, and the /g command line option, allows you to specify a location within a file to move the caret to. This specification can be a simple line number, or it can include a character position within the line.

From the command dialog you can specify either an absolute position, or one relative to where the caret is at the moment; the command line /g option accepts only an absolute position

In its simplest form, a file position specification is simply a number, such as "518". You can specify the first line of a file as either "1" or "start", and can specify the last line of the file either by its actual line number, or by the word "end"

To specify a relative line number position, precede the number with either "+" or "-". Thus "+38" means "38 lines down from where the caret now is", and "-7" means "7 lines up from where the caret now is".

If you specify only a line number, PFE will always position the caret at the far left of the target line. However, you can if you want specify a character position the line also, so you can move to any arbitrary position.

Character positions are specified following the line number, and are separated from the by a "/" character. Like line numbers, they can be absolute values or relative ones, and you can use the words "start" and "end" for the far left and far right ends of the line respectively.

Normally, character positions are specified as window columns on the screen. Thus, a specification of

58/32

would indicate line 58, in window column 32. The left-most window column is numbered 1.

If the window column specified is within the spaces formed by expanding a TAB character, PFE adjusts the position to the first character following. If the column is past the end of the line, the specification is invalid and the command will fail.

In many cases there is no ambiguity in this position; however, if your file contains TAB characters, a specific character on a line may not be in a predictable window column - the TAB expansion width may change.

To allow you to specify a position clearly when TABs are involved, PFE also allows you to specify the position within a line by giving the character count within the line. This value is independent of TAB expansion, since a TAB character counts 1, the same as any other.

To indicate that you are specify a position by character count, you must precede the number with "C" or "c". Thus the specification

37/C94

indicates line 37, 94 characters from the start of the text, counting each TAB character as 1. The position may or not be in the 94th window column.

The first character in the text of a line is numbered 1.

The line number component of a position specification cannot be omitted. Therefore, if you need to specify a movement within the current line, you need to specify the line number in relative form. For example, you would specify window column 27 in the current line as

+0/27

EXAMPLES

58

Indicates line 58, at the start of the line

+35

Indicates 35 lines down from the line containing the caret now, at the start of the line

27/6

Indicates line 27, in window column 6 (or as close as TAB expansion permits)

+0/end

Indicates the end of the line now containing the caret

38/C45

Indicates line 38, at the 45th character of text, where a TAB character always counts as exactly 1 character regardless of TAB expansion width. The result may or may not be the same as that obtained by the specification 38/45

127/+5

Indicates line 127, 5 window columns to the right of where the caret is in its present line

end/end

Indicates the far right of the last line in the file


A word is defined as a sequence of alphanumeric characters, delimited at each end by white space or punctuation. If the window has been set with a window mode of "C language" the underscore character is treated as alphanumeric


To represent characters that you can't type in the Edit Find and Edit Replace dialogs, and in the search string specified in the EditFind() DDE command, use this notation:

\f represents a Form Feed character

\t represents a TAB character

\n represents the end of a line

\\ represents a single '\' character

To represent an arbitrary character code, use the notation "\xnn", where "nn" represents two hexadecimal digits. The null value "\x00" is not permitted.


PFE can capture the output of any DOS program that writes to the standard output or standard error files stdout and stderr. Output displayed by writing directly to video memory can't be captured.


MAPI is an electronic mail protocol devised by Microsoft and used in their Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Windows Messaging System and Microsoft Exchange applications. Other vendors use different mail systems; currently PFE does not support them


Depending on the video display adapter that is fitted to your computer, only a few of the infinite number of possible colours that exist can be shown exactly, and all the rest must be synthesised from combinations of others. In practice, you would probably have 16 or fewer solid colours available.

Colours that cannot be shown exactly are represented by a process called dithering, whereby Windows will create the appearance of a colour by generating a pattern of two or more other colours. For example, a pale blue could be synthesised from a grid of dark blue lines on a white background; from a suitable distance it the effect is of the colour required.

Dithered colours look extremely unattractive when used as backgrounds for text, and so PFE will convert any dithered colour you choose into the closest matching solid colour.


PFE records the details of your configuration options (as set by the Options Preferences command), and various items that need to be carried over between sessions as its initialisation data.

For the 16-Bit Edition, the information is stored in a file called pfe.ini, which by default is held in the Windows directory. The information held here is common to all users of the computer.

The 32-Bit Edition uses the Windows Registry to store this information; each logged-on user has his or her own private set of initialisation data that is not accessible to other users.


To establish a DDE link to the 16-Bit Edition of PFE use the service name PFE.

For the 32-Bit Edition, the service name PFE32 will link to an instance running with the standard default registry configuration set "DefaultConfiguration"; see Using Registry Configuration Sets And DDE for complete details.


PFE defines a paragraph as a set of lines containing text, with an empty line or a line containing only space or TAB characters, before and after it


A keyboard macro name can be up to 31 characters long; it can contain letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, dots (periods) and underscores.


A Registry Configuration Set is a grouping of initialisation data within the Windows Registry that PFE uses. Normally, PFE stores configuration data in a set created automatically called "DefaultConfiguration", but you can create your own sets and select them for use to keep configurations for your different work projects separate


A Registry Configuration Set name can be up to 32 characters long, and can contain letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, dots (periods) and underscores.

If the name contains spaces, remember that you need to enclose it in quotes when you use it with the "/r" command line option.


The Active Keyboard Recording is the keyboard macro that you normally create by recording keystrokes and menu actions as you make them. The recording can quickly be made and replayed; you can also edit it, and save it to file for later automatic or manual reloading.


PFE provides a default mapping of keystrokes to these macro execution commands.

Command	Keystroke	Command	Keystroke
MacroPlayMacro1	Ctrl+1	MacroPlayMacro11	Ctrl+Shift+1
MacroPlayMacro2	Ctrl+2	MacroPlayMacro12	Ctrl+Shift+2
MacroPlayMacro3	Ctrl+3	MacroPlayMacro13	Ctrl+Shift+3
MacroPlayMacro4	Ctrl+4	MacroPlayMacro14	Ctrl+Shift+4
MacroPlayMacro5	Ctrl+5	MacroPlayMacro15	Ctrl+Shift+5
MacroPlayMacro6	Ctrl+6	MacroPlayMacro16	Ctrl+Shift+6
MacroPlayMacro7	Ctrl+7	MacroPlayMacro17	Ctrl+Shift+7
MacroPlayMacro8	Ctrl+8	MacroPlayMacro18	Ctrl+Shift+8
MacroPlayMacro9	Ctrl+9	MacroPlayMacro19	Ctrl+Shift+9
MacroPlayMacro10	Ctrl+0	MacroPlayMacro20	Ctrl+Shift+0

The mappings can be changed with the Options Key Mapping command.


The Most-Recently Used files list is a list maintained by PFE of all the files that you've recently edited. The names appear on the File Menu, and you can open the files again by selecting the names in the menu.

You can configure the size and appearance of the list on the menu using the "MRU List" panel of the dialog started by the Options Preferences command.

If you're using the 32-Bit Edition, you can access files from the list, and remove unwanted entries, using the Control Station


A macro library is said to be attached when it has been opened by PFE and loaded into memory for use. You must always attach a library before you can access any of the macros it contains.

You can manually attach a macro library using the Macro Librarian dialog. Any library that contains macros that you've bound to commands so they can be run from key sequences will automatically be attached when PFE starts.


A file filter is a method of restricting the filenames shown in the dialogs started by the File Open, File View, File Insert, File Write, File Save As and File Name commands to those whose names match specific patterns.

You can define up to 32 separate file filters with different name patterns, to let you see, for example, files with names matching "*.h", files with names matching "*.txt" and so on.

Under Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.51, you'll see the filter list at the lower left of the file opening dialogs in the "List files of type" list.

Under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0,  the list is at the bottom of the dialog and called "Files of type".